Actress Urmila Sanawar arrested over Rs 5 crore extortion from ex-BJP MLA’s daughter, days after ‘VIP’ audio tapes in Rishikesh murder case surface

HARIDWAR: Haridwar police arrested actress Urmila Sanawar from Saharanpur after former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore's daughter accused her of demanding Rs 5 crore and the transfer of Ravidas Dham property, besides threatening to kill her family.Police registered an FIR at Ranipur police station on Sunday on charges of extortion and criminal intimidation, along with allegations concerning objectionable social media remarks.The arrest came amid a separate CBI investigation into audio recordings released by Sanawar that allegedly identified a politically connected 'VIP' in the 2022 Rishikesh resort murder case.The complainant, daughter of the former Jwalapur MLA, alleged that Sanawar called her on Saturday night and demanded Rs 5 crore and the transfer of Ravidas Dham property to her name.She also allegedly threatened to kill her family members and implicate Rathore in false cases if her demands were not met.The complainant further alleged that Sanawar made derogatory remarks about her father on social media, accused him of having illicit relationships with a woman from Dehradun and others, and threatened to beat him with slippers.Actress faced earlier complaint over objectionable photos, videosPolice subsequently traced Sanawar to Saharanpur and arrested her. Haridwar SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar told TOI, "A case has been registered against Urmila Sanawar on the basis of a complaint filed by Suresh Rathore's daughter on Sunday, and she was subsequently arrested by the police. She is being produced before the court."Police records reportedly indicated that nine cases had been registered against Sanawar in Saharanpur, Dehradun, Ranipur and Haridwar.The latest complaint followed another case Rathore's daughter filed last year, alleging that Sanawar and a man had circulated objectionable photographs and videos of her on social media.Police arrested the male accused in that case and subsequently filed a chargesheet in court.Arrest followed Sanawar and Rathore's appearance before a special CBI court in Dehradun on October 23, when both gave their consent to proposed narcoanalysis tests in connection with 2022 Rishikesh resort murder case.Court was scheduled to take up the matter again on October 26. The victim's parents had earlier approached CBI seeking tests to establish the authenticity of audio recordings and examine allegations concerning an unidentified 'VIP'.Sanawar had released recordings that she claimed contained conversations with Rathore and references to a senior political figure allegedly connected with the murder.Allegations named Dushyant Kumar Gautam, a senior BJP leader recently appointed governor of Sikkim, as the purported 'VIP'. Gautam denied the allegations.In the original murder case, a court sentenced resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices to life imprisonment.Fresh CBI inquiry concerned allegations arising from the audio recordings and remained separate from the extortion case registered against Sanawar.Stay updated with the latest Dehradun news. Download the TOI App.