Ex-school principal with seven-year criminal record arrested for extortion

A former principal of an intermediate school in Etawah, who had a seven-year criminal record, and two others were arrested here on Wednesday for allegedly attempting

A former principal of an intermediate school in Etawah, who had a seven-year criminal record, and two others were arrested here on Wednesday for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 1 crore each from two prominent local businessmen, said police. The accused tried to scare the victims using the name of dreaded criminal Harendra Rana, lodged at a jail in Madhya Pradesh, said cops.

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“The culprits -- ex-principal Naresh Chandra Verma, 48, and others -- had threatened to douse the victims in petrol and burn them to death, if their demands were not met with. A case under section 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against them,” said inspector Ashok Kumar of Sadar police station, who led the team that nabbed all three on Wednesday.

Police said the victims had their showrooms at the Chobeyji Ka Phatak (Shri Jewellers) and Sadar Bazar (Parvati Clock Store) areas. “An extortion letter was received at Parvati Clock Store on September 28 and a similar letter was received at Shri Jewellers on October 1,” said Kumar, adding that two separate cases were registered at the Sadar police station and the Kotwali police station of Agra on Tuesday.

Police said Verma was suspended from his post as the principal of the SAV Inter-College in Bhartana town of Etawah in 2012 on the charge of misappropriating government funds. His job was finally terminated in 2017, they said.

“In the latest crime, he colluded with two others -- Vipin Kumar and Pravendra -- to extort money from the businessmen. The accused had asked the victims to reach Etawah with Rs 1 crore each on Thursday,” said a police official privy to the matter.

“The former school principal has a criminal record since 2012 and has been arrested three times -- the first time was when he was accused of financial irregularities at the school and then for impersonating a police inspector in Agra and posing as a CB-CID inspector in Jhansi. Several cases are registered against him at various police stations,” said Kumar.