CHENNAI: Vepery police on Tuesday arrested a 53-year-old woman and her younger son for extorting 850 grams of gold, 120 grams of diamond and over 2.5 kg silver articles worth several crores from a businessman's wife over several months.
The complainant, a 35-year-old woman, lives with her family in an apartment complex in Purasawalkam. The accused, Sangeetha (53) and her sons, Dileep (34) and Ankit (31) moved into the same complex in mid 2025, and Sangeetha initially befriended the complainant.
Over time, the complainant started visiting Sangeetha's apartment and became acquainted with her elder son, Dileep, and the two developed a relationship. Dileep claimed to run a jewellery showroom and an IT company, and over time, he shared about his tax issues with the woman and asked for her help.
Over time, the woman ended up giving her jewellery without her family's knowledge to Dileep. Recently, Dileep had demanded more from the complainant, and when she refused, he threatened to upload private videos of them together on social media.
Meanwhile, Sangeetha and her sons vacated the apartment. Probe revealed that the accused family had indulged in the same extortion tactics elsewhere, too and were jailed twice. "They pretend to be wealthy and rent expensive apartments and then, over time, take money from unassuming women," a police officer said.
A police team arrested Sangeetha and Ankit, who were part of the racket, and a search is on for Dileep, whom police suspect to be hiding in North India. The arrested persons were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.