BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh police on Friday caught a woman and a lawyer for extorting a sum of Rs 7 lakh from an elderly man by allegedly threatening him to implicate him in a case of rape . This incident took place in Gwalior district on Friday evening.

The accused woman had joined the Bramhakumaris six years ago, after separating from her husband, said police adding that she had filed similar complaints against other people also.

They were arrested red-handed while collecting money from the man, they were threatening to implicate, said police.

Earlier this month, accused Rekha Rajak, 33, lodged a complaint with Mahila police station that she was raped by Ram Nivas Sharma, 69, head of Brahma Kumaris' ashram, resident of Thatipur area in Gwalior. She told police that she was exploited for long and then raped by the accused during her three-month stay at the ashram.

The extortion angle came up in the case when Sharma, who has been accused by the women of committing rape, lodged a counter complaint.

While police initiated investigations and booked Sharma, she offered a deal of Rs 7 lakh to Sharma to withdraw the complaint.

Sharma informed the matter to police and continued negotiations with the woman. Mayank recorded the telephonic conversation and handed it over to the police.

Unaware of the police complaint, the woman asked Sharma to deposit Rs 5 lakh in her bank account and hand over remaining amount to the lawyer.

"We have arrested the woman and her accomplice for registering a false case of rape against Sharma and collecting Rs 7 lakh extortion money," Gwalior SP Pramod Vermatold TOI.

Sum of Rs 5 lakh (with its series number given by Sharma) were recovered in the bank, Rs 2 lakh was seized from her accomplice, the SP added. Police claim she had made similar complaints against other people including her father-in-law.

"It seems that she has made false complaints in the past also. We are investigating it," said the SP.

Senior police officials claim that there had been several instances, especially in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, where women have misused the law as a "weapon for vengeance and vendetta".

"Many of the cases are being reported by those women who have consensual physical relationship with a man but when the relationship breaks due to one reason or the other, the women use the law as a weapon for vengeance and personal vendetta to extort money and sometimes even to force the man to get married to her," said a senior police officer quoting a remark by Delhi high court.

While granting anticipatory bail to a man facing rape charges filed by a woman claiming to be his wife in May 2013, Delhi high court had said that judges should "cautiously examine the intentions of the girl to find out whether the rape complaint is genuine or has malafide motives".