NEW DELHI: A 42-year-old property agent was arrested for posing as a government official and extorting a septuagenarian woman in South Delhi’s Defence Colony area, police said on Saturday.
The accused, Tausif Raja, is a graduate and worked as a property agent in the Shaheen Bagh area. A 76-year-old woman, a resident of Defence Colony, reported on Tuesday about an incident involving the extortion of Rs 1.75 lakh by an unknown person.
In her complaint, she stated that on May 9, a person claiming to be an official from the Horticulture and MCD departments visited her residence. He alleged that the drains on her property were not clean and threatened that a challan of Rs 50,000 would be issued and their electricity meter would be disconnected. He then demanded Rs 25,000 as a bribe to settle the matter, a senior police officer said.
When she refused to pay the bribe, the individual threatened to sabotage the marriage of her son. Out of fear, she handed over Rs 25,000 to the accused. On May 13, the same person returned and again threatened to disconnect the electricity meter and disrupt her son’s marriage. This time, he demanded an amount of Rs 50 lakh. Out of fear, her husband complied with his instructions and delivered Rs 1.5 lakh in cash at the Modi Mill flyover, as directed by the accused, the officer said.
Despite receiving the money, the accused continued to threaten the complainant’s family and insisted on being paid the remaining amount. During the investigation, police analysed footage from over 100 CCTV cameras and examined the call detail records of the accused. Eventually, the accused was identified. A raid was conducted in Okhla, and he was arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan said.
One motorcycle, two mobile phones, and Rs 28,500 in cash were recovered from his possession, police added.