Five held for posing as cops, extorting ₹29L in Greater Noida

Greater Noida: Days after a group of men, impersonating police officers, allegedly extorted ₹29 lakh from a 40-year-old tax consultant after abducting and threatening him on July 20 with a staged encounter, five people were arrested on Wednesday, police said

Greater Noida: Days after a group of men, impersonating police officers, allegedly extorted ₹29 lakh from a 40-year-old tax consultant after abducting and threatening him on July 20 with a staged encounter, five people were arrested on Wednesday, police said.

According to police, the five men, residents of Noida, Delhi, Mathura, Deoria and Etah, were arrested from Greater Noida West. (Representational image)

Police recovered ₹24.5 lakh in cash and also jewellery worth ₹4.50 lakh, which suspects had used to take a loan from a gold loan non-banking finance firm. Besides, two cars, seven phones, a fake police uniform and a pair of Delhi Police Civil Defence uniforms were also recovered from their possession, said officials.

According to police, the five men, residents of Noida, Delhi, Mathura, Deoria and Etah, were arrested from Greater Noida West.

“Investigation found that one suspect, a Noida resident, had come into contact with Kumar in 2021 after receiving some GST notice. Since the suspect was aware of his activities, he, along with his accomplices, started monitoring Kumar and his work,” said Shailendra Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central Noida.

Considering Kumar to be a soft target who could give them money easily, the suspects made a plan and executed it on July 20, the DCP added.

On Wednesday, police officials clarified that none of the suspects are police officers or linked to police department, saying two of the five suspects work as petrol pump operators, one is associated with Delhi Civil Defence, one is involved in iron gates manufacturing, and the other is a property dealer.

A case under the BNS sections of wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and extortion was registered against the suspects at the Bisrakh police station on Sunday (August 9) after the incident drew media attention.

Police had formed five teams to trace the suspects.

The victim, Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Sector 1, Greater Noida West, had alleged that the incident took place as he was headed to his office in Ace Aspire, Techzone 4, Greater Noida, and a car stopped in front of his SUV. Three men, one of them wearing a police officer’s uniform carrying two stars, forcefully entered his car.

Claiming to have received a complaint regarding Goods and Services Tax fraud against Kumar in Lucknow, the suspects allegedly took him towards the Yamuna Expressway and threatened him with dire consequences, including an encounter.

Subsequently, on the pretext of settling the case, they demanded ₹50 lakh but eventually took ₹29 lakh from him after he asked his brother to bring the cash on the Noida Expressway.

Kumar had alleged that he called the police helpline number 112 and, despite visiting police stations and senior officials, his case was not registered till August 9. However, the DCP has refuted the allegation, saying, “Kumar was intending to settle the matter without lodging any formal complaint.”