New Delhi, 19 Sept

Samir Modi, the brother of fugitive businessman Lalit Modi, was on Thursday arrested at the Delhi airport in connection with a 2019 rape case, police said.

Samir, a businessman, was arrested at the airport upon his return from abroad today. He has been taken into custody after an FIR was registered against him at the New Friends Police Station under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), they said.

Meanwhile, Samir's lawyer has claimed that the charges levelled against him are false and an attempt to extort money from him.

In a statement, Simran Singh of Sakura Advisory, counsel for Samir, said, "The complaint is based on false and concocted facts and the allegations have been made with the ulterior motive of extracting money from him."

According to the FIR filed on 10 September, the complainant accused the businessman of repeatedly raping, threatening her and cheating on her since 2019. Modi allegedly approached her on the pretext of offering career opportunities in the fashion and lifestyle industry and later forced himself on her at his residence in New Friends Colony in December 2019.

The woman alleged that she was continuously harassed, assaulted and blackmailed under false promises of marriage despite knowing he was already married, the police said.

The complainant further claimed that she faced constant threats to her life and family if she revealed the abuse and that Samir used his influence to silence her by intimidation and false assurances, they added.

The police said that further investigation into this matter is ongoing.

According to Samir's counsel, he was detained at the airport pursuant to a LOC (Lookout Circular) request made by the New Friends Colony police station.

He has been remanded to a one-day police custody by the court.

"She claimed to have been in a relationship with Samir Modi since 2019. On 8 and 13 August, Samir Modi filed complaints before various police officers for extortion and blackmail by the lady. These were supported by the WhatsApp chats between them where she asked for an amount of Rs 50 crore," the statement issued by Samir's councils read.

According to Samir Modi's LinkedIn profile, he is the Managing Director of Modi Enterprises, and Founder of Modicare Foundation and Colorbar Cosmetics Pvt Ltd.

His counsels said it "is a clear case of abuse of the provisions of law and also hasty acts of the police in arresting without verifying the facts".

"We have full faith in the judiciary of our country and agencies that will not only investigate but also immediately bring closure to this matter.

We ask that you respect the privacy of the family at this deeply sensitive time until such matter is brought to its logical conclusion by the judiciary," read the statement.