Woman arrested for extortion files molestation plaint against complainant

This picture has been used for representational purposes

A 30-year-old woman has filed a counter complaint against a 53-year-old doctor, who had sent her to jail in an extortion case. On December 19, the Charkop police had arrested her along with three associates for assaulting and blackmailing the doctor and extorting Rs 2 lakh from him.

According to the Charkop cops, the doctor - Sudhir Shetty - who runs a clinic at sector 3 in Charkop, Kandivli West, had approached the police claiming that he was harassed and beaten up by six people in his clinic. The doctor also said that the miscreants extorted Rs 2 lakh from him. Following his complaint, the police had arrested the woman and her accomplices.

However, the woman has alleged that on November 8 she went to the clinic for a check-up but the doctor molested her. She had even made a video of the harassment. After that she threatened she would post the video online and called the other accused, who assaulted the doctor at his clinic. Later, they demanded R5 lakh to settle the matter but Shetty paid them Rs 2 lakh. When the accused started demanding Rs 50,000 more, he approached the police. The Charkop police registered a case and arrested four people, while the others are still absconding. The accused were initially remanded in judicial custody and later granted bail.

After coming out on bail, the woman filed a complaint against the doctor. She alleged that Shetty touched her inappropriately during the check-up. "The allegations against us are false because we are the victims. Instead of taking our complaint, the police made us accused in the case. The doctor has misbehaved with many women patients, due to which he was beaten up. His licence should be cancelled and he should be arrested," said Deepak Mane, one of the accused in the extortion case.
Speaking to mid-day, Pravin Padwal, additional commissioner of police (North Mumbai), said, "There is a provision in law that if a complaint is registered, it should be investigated. The victim alleges that the doctor molested her, so we have registered an FIR."

Dr Shetty said, "This is a racket and everything was planned. The police have arrested four people so far and recovered some of the amount they extorted from me. Two accused involved in the case are still absconding. I am a victim in this case."

When contacted, Advocate Vishal Satyaprakash Saxena said, "One can register a counter FIR at the nearest police station and both the matters shall be investigated separately. However, both the cases shall be adjudicated by the same judge, as the matter is in the form of counter-cases arising out of the same cause of action."

"Several laws are being misused today. The current FIR cannot sustain in the eyes of the law, as there's already an FIR for extortion registered against her and others. Coming out on bail and fulfilling personal vendetta in order to further the acts of extortion is nothing but a clear act of misusing the police machinery and law. Such people shouldn't be entertained by the law enforcing machinery, rather be penalised under Sections 182 and 203 of the IPC," said Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan.