NEW DELHI: Nine people were arrested for trying to extort Rs 20 crore from a Mumbai-based company head by sending him fake notices of the Enforcement Directorate, the police said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Akhilesh Mishra, Darshan Harish Joshi, Vinod Kumar Patel, Dharmender Kumar Giri, Naresh Mahto, Asrar Ali, Vishnu Prasad, Devender Kumar Dubey and Gajender alias Guddu, were inspired by the Bollywood flick ‘Special 26’.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said Nippon India Paints president had received two notices from ED. “His colleague was informed by one of the accused that the Enforcement Directorate had registered a case against them and soon they will be in deep trouble and he can help them sort out the matter through his sources,” the Special CP said.
The accused promised them that he can sort out the issue with the help of his liaison in ED office, in Delhi.
The victim booked air tickets for the accused people from Mumbai to Delhi for November 14 and a meeting was fixed at the Ashoka Hotel in the capital. The accused persons upped their demands to `20 crore for negotiation and settlement.
It was at this point the complainant got suspicious and contacted the Delhi Police, which, based on his complaint, registered an FIR. The police immediately constituted several teams to nab the accused people of which the first team apprehended five of the accused persons from the hotel.
Subsequently, during interrogation, one of the accused further disclosed that three more associates were to meet them at Khan Market. Following this, another raid was conducted and the remaining three accused persons were apprehended from Khan Market. Another accused person was nabbed soon after.