NEW DELHI: Five people have been arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly running an extortion racket by impersonating as officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the central probe agency said on Friday.
It said the five, in the age group of 24-35 years, are residents of Delhi-NCR and were arrested by the crime branch of the Delhi Police on a complaint from the ED.
They were produced before a court here on Thursday and sent to a three-day police custody, the ED said in a statement.
"The five accused have been arrested on the basis of a complaint from a Maharashtra-based individual alleging that somebody approached him with a fake notice of the ED and demanded money for settlement of their purported case in the ED.
"This complaint was forwarded by the ED to the Delhi Police and on the basis of proactive action and swift investigation, the culprits involved in the racket have been apprehended by Delhi Police," it said.
The federal investigating agency said it is initiating similar action in other cases, where people are faking or impersonating its letters and authority.
"The ED is proactively pursuing with other state police units for apprehending the culprits involved in harassing the public in the guise of ED officials," the agency said.
It recently came to the notice of the ED that fake letters in the agency's name were sent to various banks and individuals in Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi by certain unscrupulous elements.
"In the fake notices sent to the banks, instructions were given for freezing of bank accounts of innocent traders and individuals.
"Similarly, fake summonses/letters were issued to traders and individuals, asking them to appear at the ED office," the agency said.
After conducting an initial verification, clarifications were issued to the banks with a direction to file police complaints in case such fake letters were received by them, it said.
"Immediate clarifications have also been made to the individuals about the fake letters/summonses.
"Complaints have been made to the DGPs of Karnataka and Delhi for apprehending the accused," the agency said.
The ED has been pursuing with these state police forces to the bring the accused involved in harassing innocent people to book, it said.
The agency is mandated to probe financial crimes, money laundering, the "hawala" trade and possession of black money cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).