BHUBANESWAR: A day after Police Commissioner warned stringent action against those demanding extortion, 10 anti-socials including gangster Raja Acharya, were arrested from various parts of the city for their alleged involvement in such offences.
Capital police received information about Acharya trying to set up makeshift shops near Government quarters in Unit-II and for the purpose, he had planned to collect extortion from shopkeepers every month.
Similarly, Badagada police arrested an anti-social, Subhranshu Kumar Bhanja. While Airfield police arrested four criminals Silu Bhoi, Ganesh Samantaray, Babaji Sahoo and Sanjay Sahoo in connection with extortion cases registered against them, Khandagiri police nabbed four persons for demanding extortion from bus owners.
The accused Bharat Pradhan, who is a bus owner, his associates Deepak Behera and Soumya Ranjan Pradhan of Baramunda and Ashok Kumar Swain of Rayagada were also diverting the passengers to the buses of their choice and snatching money from the conductors of other passenger vehicles.
Khandagiri police have registered a case against them, seized one SUV, Rs 1 lakh cash and five mobile phones from them.