NEW DELHI: Three men, including a London School of Economics (LSE) graduate, were arrested for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 2 crore from a Delhi-based businessman by impersonating a notorious gangster, police said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Sumit (42), Prince (35), and Nitish (31), had flown to Thailand to execute their plan but were nabbed upon their return to India.
The case came to light after the victim filed a complaint at the DBG Road police station, stating that he had received a threatening WhatsApp call from an international number. The caller, posing as a well-known gangster, demanded Rs 2 crore through a cryptocurrency QR code and issued death threats against the complainant’s children if the payment was not made.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Nidhin Valsan said investigators used advanced techniques to trace the call and QR code to Thailand. “Police analysed previous crypto transactions and monitored the suspects’ movements. Once they landed in India, they were arrested,” Valsan said. Two mobile phones used to generate the crypto QR code and make the WhatsApp call were also recovered.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to being heavily debt-ridden and hatching the extortion plan as a quick solution. Sumit, who works in the jewellery trade, was acquainted with the victim’s family. To evade detection, the trio traveled to Thailand, procured an international SIM card, and made the calls via WhatsApp while abroad. Nitish, a master’s graduate from LSE, was among those involved in the scheme.
A case has been registered, and further investigations are underway.