Actress Urmila Sanawar arrested over alleged threat, extortion

Haridwar police arrested actress Urmila Sanawar on Sunday from her residence in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, over alleged derogatory remarks on social media and money extortion. The arrest comes a day after the daughter of former MLA Suresh Rathore lodged an FIR against Sanawar at the Ranipur Kotwali police station. According to the complaint, Sanawar had been demanding that the 'Ravidas Peeth' be transferred to her name. When this demand was not met, she allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore in extortion. 
The complaint further states that the actress threatened to kill the family and circulate photos and videos on social media if the money was not paid. Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case, launched an investigation, and apprehended Sanawar from Saharanpur.  She claims to be the wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore. The arrest comes days after Rathore and Sanawar gave their consent before a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Dehradun on Friday to undergo polygraph and narco-analysis tests as part of the ongoing probe into the Pauri Garhwal receptionist murder case.
In her complaint filed at the Ranipur police station in Haridwar, Suresh Rathore's daughter, Deepika Rathore, alleged that Sanawar made a WhatsApp call to her demanding Rs5 crore and demanding that her father transfer the Ravidas Dham property to Sanawar's name, threatening to kill her family if the demands were not met. Deepika further alleged that Sanawar tarnished her family's image by telling the media that her father had illicit relationships and threatening to beat him with slippers on court premises.
This comes amid the row over the alleged involvement of a "VIP" in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, which has escalated following the appointment of former BJP Uttarakhand in-charge Dushyant Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim.
Earlier in the month, a four-member CBI team had reached actress Sanawar’s residence in Saharanpur in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The row is linked to the September 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at a resort near Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Singh said, “A police team led by the Ranipur police station inspector conducted a raid at the accused's residence in Saharanpur on Sunday and took her into custody. The mobile phone used in committing the crime was also recovered from her possession.”