Two pose as NCB officers, try to extort money from actor Kritika Desai

Two men have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from film, television and theatre actor Kritika Desai by posing as officers of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) when she was returning home

Mumbai Two men have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from film, television and theatre actor Kritika Desai by posing as officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) when she was returning from work.

Suspecting foul play, Desai asked the men to call a woman police constable, if they wanted to search her (HT File)

The incident had occurred at about 7.15 pm on June 9 on Film City road at Goregaon East when Desai was returning to her house in Bandra after completing a shoot. According to the Dindoshi police officers, the men identified as Pawan Vishwakarma, 28, and Atul Bhosle, 35, had intercepted the four-wheeler of the 53-year-old actor.

As her driver stopped the vehicle, the men along with one of their accomplices approached the actor and told her to get out of the car as they wanted to search the vehicle for drugs. Upon enquiry, the men told Desai that they were from the police department and asked her to show them her hands and questioned whether she consumed drugs.

The men also told her to cooperate with the search. Desai was then shown a yellow card, which they claimed were their identity cards. Suspecting foul play, Desai asked the men to call a woman police constable, if they wanted to search her. The actor then switched on her mobile camera and started recording the incident.

Desai then approached the Dindoshi police and reported the incident. “After receiving the complaint, we scanned the CCTV footage of the area and the Film City road and identified the accused also through the video recording which Desai had submitted to us,” said Gharge.

The police on Wednesday arrested two of the accused from Mira Road and Malad areas. “The two have been booked for impersonating police officers,” Gharge added.