On Thursday (14th December), Mumbai police arrested a 23-year-old man named Dildar Hussain Ali from Assam after conducting a day-long search in a forest in Assam’s Sonitpur district for recording a nude video of a victim from Andheri (East) and subsequently using it to extort money. When the police team arrived in the village on Tuesday, around 2500 individuals had assembled to assist accused Dildar Hussain Ali in evading capture. Over the past year, the accused coerced a minimum of Rs 1 lakh from the victim by fabricating a false Instagram account and using it to upload a video for blackmail.
Dildar Hussain Ali – a school drop-out – possessed the technical know-how to record WhatsApp Video Calls. He utilized this skill to compel the 20-year-old victim, who was a graduate, to undress during the video call. A police officer from the MIDC Seepz police station in Andheri (East) Mumbai said, “Initially, the police team was in a dilemma about where to head first on tracking his location, shown in Assam and Kerala. The team then decided to head to Assam, where Ali was arrested after a day-long search of the jungle.”
This case was filed in the MIDC Seepz police station in Andheri (East) Mumbai on 30th November 2023. The victim woman who works in a firm in Andheri was fed up with the frequent blackmailing and harassment from the accused. Accused Dildar Hussain Ali forced her to transfer money to his bank account.
A police officer said, “The complainant had come in contact with Ali a few months ago on a social media platform. He befriended her, promised marriage and started chatting on video call. He forced her to do obscene acts and recorded them. He then created a fake social media account and uploaded these videos. Even after she filed a complaint, Ali demanded money to not circulate these videos further.”
In her complaint, the victim woman said, “The blackmailing began after I rejected his marriage proposal when I learned that the accused whom I befriended on social media as Dildar Khan is a school dropout and unemployed. This annoyed him and started posting the video screenshot which he recorded that he captured during our intimate chats.”
DCP Datta Nalawade led the supervisory role for the team, which included ACP Dr Shashikant Bhosale, MIDC Police Senior Inspector Satish Gaikwad, Inspector Tukaram Koyande, Sub-Inspector Pramod Khotwad, and supporting staff. This team successfully traced the accused to Assam.
A police officer said, “Ali’s parents took the villagers’ help to get him to escape on learning that the police team had arrived in Assam to arrest him. Around 2500 villagers gathered outside Ali’s house. The team took the superintendent of police’s help in Assam to comb out the entire jungle which lasted over 12 hours before he was nabbed.” The accused was arrested on Thursday.
Dildar Hussain Ali has been booked under the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for sexual harassment, defamation, and computer-related offences among others.
