A woman has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur for attempting to extort money from a real estate businessman by threatening to implicate him in a false rape case. The accused allegedly took a huge amount of money from the businessman and was caught by police while the first instalment was collected at a hotel.
The complainant has been identified as 34-year-old Jabalpur-based real estate businessman Sarthak Singh; the arrested woman is 28-year-old Pooja Prakash, also known as Pooja Raidas. They first became acquainted through a dance programme and later met on a dating website. She started to threaten the businessman and demand money, she said.
Pooja, as it is alleged in the case, initially demanded ₹20 lakh from Sarthak Singh. She threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay the money. The businessman, however, went to the police instead of capitulating to the alleged threats.
The allegations went beyond money. Pooja was also demanding that Sarthak divorce his wife and marry her. Faced with the alleged threats and demands, the businessman went to the police for help. The police then allegedly planned an operation to catch the accused while she was accepting money.
As part of the operation, Sarthak was instructed to meet Pooja at a hotel and hand over ₹2.5 lakh as the first instalment. The meeting was arranged under police supervision. Jabalpur Police officers were in plain clothes and monitored the transaction to ensure that the arrest could be made at the appropriate moment.
When Pooja accepted ₹2.5 lakh at the hotel, police officers came in and arrested her on the spot. Cash was also seized during the operation. The arrest was recorded, and video of the incident went viral on social media.
While some are calling for that video to be removed, others argue that the video shows the police can use force on the accused woman and the police officers should not have to use physical force to get her arrested.
Meet 28-year-old Abla Nari Pooja Raidas who was arrested by Jabalpur Police from a Hotel after she collected 2.5 lacs from a businessman by threatening to frame him in a fake rape case.
— NCMIndia Council For Men Affairs (@NCMIndiaa) September 21, 2026
34 year old Businessman Sarthak Singh alleged that he met Pooja through a dating app and after… pic.twitter.com/eL8mZ3Nz0l
The incident has also revived conversations about alleged blackmail involving threats of criminal cases. But allegations made in a police complaint or during an investigation do not by themselves establish guilt, and the accused is entitled to due process under the law.
Police are still investigating the nature of the alleged demands, the relationship between the complainant and the accused, and communications or other evidence from the case. There are also likely to be people involved in the extortion attempt, investigators said.
The Jabalpur case has attracted much attention because of alleged blackmail, a proposed false criminal complaint, a huge financial demand, and the police operation at a hotel. As the investigation moves on, more will be known about the evidence collected and the charges, if any, that will eventually be determined by investigators.
