Published on: 14 July 2023 at 12:00 IST
The LT Marg police in Mumbai have booked four individuals, including two Chinese nationals, on charges of confining and attempting to extort money from an imitation jeweler. Although the incident took place in March in Yiwu city, located in China’s Central Zhejiang province, the case was registered on Wednesday as the conspiracy to commit the crime occurred in south Mumbai.
A senior police officer confirmed the development and stated that one of the accused, identified as Vipendra Rajpurohit (25), has been arrested. The complainant, Hitesh Kumar Mali (25), along with two others, had traveled to China on March 17. Mali, an imitation jeweler, often visits Yiwu city to purchase goods at a lower price.
Upon their arrival in China, Rajpurohit allegedly informed his accomplice, Chand Shah, who, along with the two Chinese nationals, went to their hotel in Yiwu and confined them to their room. The officer explained that Rajpurohit believed Mali’s employee, who had borrowed goods worth Rs 36 lakh from him without repayment, was now Mali’s business partner. This led Rajpurohit to devise a plan to extort money from them.
When the complainant refused to pay, the 25-year-old businessman and two others were kept confined for two days. However, they managed to escape from the hotel and returned to Mumbai on March 20. Due to fears of false complaints or physical harm upon their return to Yiwu, where they frequently purchased imitation jewelry, they refrained from filing a police complaint.
However, on Wednesday, they finally reported the incident to the LT Marg police station, leading to the tracing and arrest of Rajpurohit. The investigation into the case is ongoing.