Woman lures civil engineer promising government project, tortures him in bid to extort ₹4 crore

Byatarayanapura police in Bengaluru are on the lookout for a gang of four, including a 32-year-old woman, who abducted a civil engineer to extort ₹4 crore on August 11.

The accused, identified as Pushpavathy, and her associates Santosh, Ayyappa and Rakesh had demanded ₹4 crore from the civil engineer — Suraj Srinivasamurthy, 36, a resident of Hanumanth Nagar — before settling for ₹25 lakh after several hours of negotiations.

In his complaint, Suraj claimed that he was introduced to Pushpavathy by a relator and promised a government project. Pushpavathy met him a few times before inviting him to an office of a charitable trust near Gali Anjaneya Swamy temple on Mysuru Road.

When Suraj went to the office, Pushpavathy introduced him to a man who identified himself as Santosh and claimed to be the PA to an IAS officer.

While they were discussing the project, Ayyappa and Rakesh allegedly snatched the mobile phone of Suraj before tying his hands and legs at gunpoint.

They threatened to kill Suraj if he did not pay a ransom of ₹4 crore. Suraj told them that he could not raise that kind of money even if he sold his house. However, the accused were adamant and even said that he could consider the amount as a loan and they would return the money, Suraj claimed in his complaint.

They allegedly beat him for several hours with a belt, and after a lot of negotiation, the accused settled for ₹25 lakh.

The accused forced Suraj to call his friend to arrange the money before releasing him. Pushpavathy threatened to foist a rape charge against Suraj if he complained to the police.

After being released, Suraj got admitted to Victoria hospital before approaching the Byatarayanapura police and filing a complaint on August 18.

The police registered a case of assault, extortion, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, and also under the Arms Act.