Mumtaz Ali case: Judicial custody extended for six accused

Mangaluru: Judicial custody has been extended for all six suspects, including a couple, accused of blackmailing and extorting B.M. Mumtaj Ali, the brother of Misbah Educational Institutions Chairman and former MLA Mohiuddin Bava.

The suspects are charged with blackmail, extortion, and abetment to suicide.

The accused include Rehmat and her husband Shoaib, residents of Krishnaapur, as well as Mohammed Siraj Salaam, Abdul Sattar from Katipalla Bolaje, Kalandar Shah from Nandavara in Sajipa Munnuru, Bantwal, and Mohammed Mustafa from Krishnaapur 7th Block.

The group allegedly blackmailed Mumtaj Ali by threatening to defame him publicly with false claims of an illicit relationship between him and Rehmat, extorting Rs 75 lakh from him and demanding an additional Rs 50 lakh. The group allegedly extended threats to his family, which led to Ali’s suicide.

Reportedly, Mumtaj Ali sent a voice message to his brother detailing the harassment prior to his death, which was later filed in an FIR at Kavoor Police Station.

Mumtaj Ali’s car was found in an accident condition near Kuloor Bridge in the early hours of October 6, and his body was discovered in the Phalguni River near the bridge on October 8. The suspects are currently held in the Mangaluru District Jail, with police indicating that no further evidence of involvement in other honeytrap cases has emerged during the investigation.

Assistance turns to blackmail:

Rehmat, a former employee of Misbah College, had known Mumtaj Ali for three years.

During difficult times, Mumtaj Ali reportedly helped her, but she allegedly used his goodwill to start blackmailing him. Attempts were made to settle the case with a payment of Rs 50 lakh, yet Sattar allegedly used a voice clip from a conversation between Rehmat and Mumtaj Ali to continue the blackmail.

This harassment ultimately drove Mumtaj Ali to take his own life, according to the police investigation.