Rajkot: Five persons including a woman , were arrested for blackmailing a trader by threatening to frame him in molestation case in Race Course locality on Sunday.The accused were identified as Shahnavaz Amdani alias Sonu (23) and Afzal Nanani alias Abo (20), both residents of Raiya Road, Asif Kadvar (25) and Harkishansinh Gohel (20), both residents of Gandhigram, and Nimisha Thakral (20), a resident of Airport Road.According to the details of the case, Thakral posed herself as Nitu Rawal, in whose name she had created her Facebook account, and approached trader Suresh Shaparia (30), a resident of Junction Plot area who is into transport business.She befriended Shaparia after chatting with him on Facebook and phone. They both decided to meet at Love Garden on Race Course Road on Saturday evening. While both were talking, the other accused arrived at the spot, and accused Shaparia of molesting Thakral, who they claimed was their sister. They started thrashing him.“Then Amdani, Nanani and Kadvar kidnapped Shaparia in an autorickshaw and took him to Jamnagar Road, while Gohel drove away Thakral on his bike. Amdani, Nanani and Kadvar beat Shaparia up and demanded Rs 12 lakh from him with the threat of filing a molestation complaint against him if he failed to pay the amount,” said Pradyumannagar police station inspector B M Kataria.Shaparia requested the accused to let him go to arrange for money. They allowed him but took away his cellphone. Shaparia then spoke to his father and uncle, following which they approached the police.On early Sunday morning, the police laid a trap and arrested Amdani, who had come to collect the money, then arrested the other accused. They arrested Thakral from her house.“We will produce the accused in a court to seek their remand to find out whether they have targeted other victims in the city,” added Kataria.

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