Mohali: 2 women among 8 held for ₹50L extortion bid posing as NIA officials

Two cars, fake identity cards of the National Crime Research Intelligence Bureau, police uniform belts and fake Aadhaar cards among other items have been seized from the accused, the police said

The Zirakpur police have arrested eight persons, including two women, for reportedly posing as officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and trying to extort ₹50 lakh from a local businessman. Two cars, fake identity cards of the National Crime Research Intelligence Bureau, police uniform belts and fake Aadhaar cards among other items have been seized from them, the police said.

During investigation, it was revealed that the gang was involved in targeting multiple persons. (HT Photo)

The accused have been identified as Sushil Kumar and Nitesh of Jhajjar in Haryana, Neelam of Uttam Nagar in Delhi, Dalwinder Singh of Maloya, Chandigarh, Radhe Shyam of Ropar, Raj Kumar of Uttam Nagar in Delhi, Shubhash Chandar of Sirsa (Haryana) and Jyoti of Dwarka in New Delhi. Sushil Kumar is said to be the mastermind of the gang.

During a press conference at the Zirakpur police station on Saturday, superintendent of police (rural) Manpreet Singh and deputy superintendent of police Simranjit Singh Lang said Sushil Kumar, posing as the NIA chief, had called property dealer and agriculturist Veerpal Singh of Sector 39-B, Chandigarh, on July 17. “Sushil threatened the victim with launching a probe into his properties and bank accounts. He accused him of committing a fraud pertaining to purchase of land worth ₹30 crore in Delhi. The accused told him that the NIA was investigating the case since a huge amount was transferred into his account,” SP Manpreet Singh said.

Acting swiftly, a team led by Jaskanwal Singh Sekhon reached the dhaba and nabbed the accused who were present in two cars. During investigation, it was revealed that the gang was involved in targeting multiple persons.

According to the SP, “On July 16, the same gang entered the house of one Mahesh Gupta in Delhi and robbed him of ₹1.35 lakh. The gang members dress up like NIA sleuths to threaten the victims. They used to do recce of their targets to judge their paying capacity before contacting them. We will investigate their involvement in other cases, if any, and also how they met and formed the gang.”

Another police officer said there was a possibility of involvement of more accused, including locals who knew about the victim.

The accused have been booked under Sections 319 (2), 318 (4), 61 (2), 308 (2), 62 of the BNS at the Zirakpur police station.