Four Ghaziabad cops among 6 booked for extortion, illegally confining three men

Four policemen from Ghaziabad and two others have been booked for alleged extortion and illegal confinement of three Noida residents on Saturday

Four policemen from Ghaziabad and two others have been booked for alleged extortion and illegal confinement of three Noida residents on Saturday. The three victims said they were released nearly after six hours on producing signed cheques of ₹5 lakh each.

The three victims said they were released nearly after six hours on producing signed cheques of ₹5 lakh each. (Representative photo/Shutterstock)

Complainant Lilu Parcha (50), a resident of Gadhi Chaukhandi village, works as a sanitation worker in Delhi. Lilu’s nephew Arun Parcha said five years ago, Lilu had borrowed ₹5 lakh from one Rajendra Yadav, a resident of Behlolpur in Noida. “Rajendra had given the loan in lieu of fixed monthly instalments with interest. My uncle has cleared the loan in the last five years but Yadav claims he still owes him money,” said Arun.

In the complaint registered with police, Lilu said, “Around 8:30am on Saturday, Rajendra, his son Amit, accompanied by four police personnel, reached my house in a Mahindra Bolero. They forcibly pushed me, my brother Salekh Chand and nephew Jitendra in the police van and brought us to Indirapuram,” he said. Arun alleged that the trio was kept at the Indirapuram police station till 3pm.

“Rajendra and Amit, along with the police personnel, demanded money for their safe release. Lilu said he had no money with him. The police personnel asked him to visit his house and bring two cheques of ₹5 each. Lilu returned home, brought two signed cheques and gave them. The police personnel then released the trio,” Arun said. Lilu has also mentioned the cheque numbers in the FIR copy.

Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, said a case has been registered against four unnamed police personnel and two others under Sections 342 (illegal confinement) and 384 (extortion) of the IPC at Phase 3 police station.

“Primary investigation shows Lilu and Rajendra had some monetary dispute. The victim and the suspect are residents of Noida and had no connection with Ghaziabad police. Rajendra, in connivance with the Ghaziabad police personnel, picked the three illegally and got two cheques from Lilu,” said the DCP adding that the police are investigating the matter from all angles.

Gyanendra Singh, superintendent of police (city), Ghaziabad, said he has not received information about the matter from Noida police. “Noida police will be able to comment as they have registered a case,” he said. The SP did not comment if the four police personnel were attached to Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram police station.