New Delhi, July 19: In a significant breakthrough, the Delhi Police cyber cell has solved a cheating and sextortion case involving around Rs 5.80 lakh and arrested three youths, officials said on Sunday.

An official statement said that the Cyber Police Station of the national capital’s north-east district solved the case registered vide e-FIR No. 00126/2026 under Sections 308/318(4)/319/340 BNS, by arresting three accused persons for their involvement in a sextortion-based cyber fraud.

The arrested accused have been identified as 18-year-old Rajesh, 22-year-old Kunal and 23-year-old Imran. All of them are residents of Haryana’s Faridabad.

According to the police, the complainant, K.L. Tripathi, a resident of Delhi’s Ganga Vihar area, reported that on May 6, he received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown woman who impersonated one of his social media friends. She lured him into removing his clothes during the call and secretly recorded an obscene video.

Thereafter, Tripathi said that he continued to receive calls from various unknown numbers, with the callers posing as police officers, social media officials, and government authorities. They threatened to make the video viral, implicate him in legal proceedings, and have him arrested unless he paid money.

Under constant intimidation and fear, the complainant transferred approximately Rs 5.80 lakh in multiple instalments through different bank accounts, UPI IDs, and QR codes.

Upon realising that he had been duped, Tripathi approached the Cyber Police Station and lodged a complaint.

Officials said that subsequently, a dedicated team led by Inspector Rahul Kumar (SHO/Cyber), comprising Sub Inspector Mohit, ASI Manoj, Head Constable Sandeep, Constable Kapil, and Ct. Abhishek was formed, and they launched a meticulous financial and technical investigation.

The team traced a portion of the cheated amount to mule bank accounts belonging to accused Rajesh and Kunal.

The accused, Rajesh, was arrested on June 17. After further investigation and drawing a detailed analysis of the financial trail, another account holder, Kunal, was identified and arrested. Based on his disclosure, the third accused, Imran, who was involved in withdrawing the cheated money from ATMs, was also apprehended.

A mobile phone, along with a SIM card, used in the commission of the crime, was recovered from the third accused.

During sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed the involvement of a well-organised sextortion syndicate operating from the Mewat region of Rajasthan.

Investigators have not found any previous criminal involvement of any of the three arrested accused.

Mumbai, July 18: The ED filed a charge sheet against self-proclaimed ‘godman’ Ashokkumar Eknath Kharat @Captain @ Bondhu Baba, his wife and four others for money-laundering linked to an extortion racket run under the guise of spiritual practices, an official statement said on Saturday.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, filed the charge sheet against Kharat, his wife Kalpana Kharat and other accused before the Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai.

Assets worth Rs 36.90 crore have been attached, seized or frozen in the case till date in the case, the statement said.

Earlier, the ED had also arrested Kharat on May 19 under Section 19 of the PMLA for the offence of money-laundering, and he continues to be in judicial custody.

On July 15, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 19.20 crore under Section 5 of the PMLA, 2002, held in the names of the accused and his family members, it said.

This was in addition to assets worth Rs 17.70 crore seized/frozen during searches conducted under Section 17 of the PMLA at multiple premises, bank lockers and vehicles linked to the accused and his associates during April and May 2026, said the ED.

The ED had initiated an investigation against Kharat based on multiple FIRs registered by Sarkar Wada, Shirdi, Sinnar and Rahata Police Stations.

Investigation revealed that Kharat exploited the religious faith of devotees and dishonestly induced them to part with money and properties under the pretext of performing “Avatar Poojas”, curing illnesses, averting misfortune and ensuring business prosperity, thereby generating Proceeds of Crime through extortion, cheating and criminal intimidation, the ED said.

Investigation also revealed that Kharat falsely projected himself as possessing divine powers and as an incarnation of Lord Shiva to deceive devotees, the ED said.

He laundered the Proceeds of Crime through two cooperative credit societies by fraudulently operating over multiple accounts in connivance with an employee and through multiple benami accounts for large cash deposits and subsequent withdrawals, including maturity proceeds, the ED said.

The laundered funds were retained with trusted associates or invested in immovable properties across Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune and Mumbai in the names of his family members, the ED said.

Nashik, July 18: A 20-year-old woman was stabbed to death by a 26-year-old man, who was later found hanging from a tree in the same locality, in what police suspect to be a case of murder-suicide in Maharashtra’s Nashik, officials said on Saturday.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Sahil Ashok Lavare, attacked and killed the victim, Vaishnavi Avare, near a temple in the Indiranagar area late on Friday night before allegedly dying by suicide at a jogging track in the locality during the early hours of Saturday.

Officials said the accused allegedly stabbed the woman multiple times and also slit her throat with a knife. Residents rushed to the spot after hearing the victim’s screams, but by the time they reached the scene, the accused had managed to flee.

Police said the woman succumbed to her injuries at the spot before she could receive medical assistance.

A few hours later, at around 3 A.M., the accused was found hanging from a tree at the jogging track in the Indiranagar area. Police suspect that he died by suicide after allegedly committing the murder.

According to officials, the victim was a student and had been living as a paying guest in the locality.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim and the accused had met on Friday evening before the incident took place. Investigators initially suspected that the attack may have been triggered by a one-sided love affair.

However, further investigation has revealed that Sahil Lavare and Vaishnavi Avare had allegedly been in a live-in relationship for nearly two years. According to the preliminary findings, the accused allegedly attacked the woman after she refused to marry him.

Police suspect that after allegedly murdering Vaishnavi, Sahil went to the Indiranagar jogging track complex, where he allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself from a tree.

Officials have registered a case of murder and launched a detailed investigation to ascertain the exact sequence of events and establish the precise motive behind the crime.

Police said further investigation into the incident is underway.