3 held for extortion from Gurugram trader
Ravi knew the complainant closely and had hunch that the latter was having movable and immovable properties worth crores, police said
Gurugram: Three suspects have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort ₹ 50 lakh from a trader in Gurugram by making threat calls in the name of a dreaded gangster hiding in some foreign country, officers said on Sunday.
The victim (identity being withheld), aged about 35 and resident of Rajendra Park area, had already paid ₹5 lakh to the suspects and was set to pay them more but a close friend took him to police on Wednesday, leading to launching of an investigation.
The suspects were identified as Ravi Kumar, 31, resident of Lohatki in Sohna, Mohit Kumar, 30, of Bali and Amit Kumar, 33, of Mitli, Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, said Sandeep Kumar, public relations officer, Gurugram police.
“They were arrested from Kherla in Sohna on Friday night. Currently, they are on two-day police-remand for interrogation. Ravi is a property dealer while the two others are his friends who worked in private firms,” the officer said on Sunday.
Ravi knew the complainant closely and had hunch that the latter was having movable and immovable properties worth crores. It prompted him to hatch a conspiracy to extort money from him and make easy money.
“On December 16 night, the suspects made a WhatsApp call to the trader and threatened him to pay them ₹50 lakh as extortion money or else they will eliminate him as well as his family. It had left the trader badly terrorised,” he said.
After the victim did not pay them initially, they called him again on December 18, compelling him to cough up ₹5 lakh by dropping it in a bag at a secluded location of the city as desired.
Later, they called him again for the remaining amount. He urged them to give him some time to arrange it, and finally lodged a complaint at Rajendra Nagar police station. A first information report under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered.
Police said an investigation is on to recover the money, phones and SIM cards used in the crime, and for arresting more suspects if any are involved in the case.
