HYDERABAD: A home guard working at the Anti Corruption Bureau and his three associates were arrested by the Punjagutta police on charges of extortion of Rs 12 lakh from two persons when they met the accused to exchange new currency.
The accused persons have been identified as S Naresh, home guard working as driver in ACB headquarters, D Upender, S Naveen and A Bucchaiah, all car drivers from the city.
The accused had hatched a plan to extort money from Venkanna, a businessman and friend of the accused Upender. They informed Venkanna that they knew some persons who were interested in exchanging old notes for a 5 per cent commission.
On Thursday night, Venkanna along with his friend Mahesh reached a petrol pump in Somajiguda with Rs 12 lakh cash, all in Rs 2,000. Upender took the cash promising to return in 30 minutes with the demonetised currency.
Later, the home guard Naresh called Venkanna and told him that his friends were caught by the ACB sleuths and he also has to visit the ACB office, as a case would be booked against him. The victim was threatened with dire consequences and accused persons shared the money.
Based on the complaint, the accused have been arrested and Rs 12 lakh cash has been recovered. They were all sent to judicial remand by the police.