In a bizarre extortion case, four men have been arrested by VP Road Police in Girgaon, Mumbai, for posing as Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers from Delhi and extorting Rs11.50 lakh from the owner of Balaji Gold Jewellery shop located in Byculla.
The accused, identified as Pawan Chaudhary (33), Shreejit Gaikwad (32), Suryakant Shinde (32), and Kishan Shelar (53), entered the shop on March 19 at around 3.00 pm, claiming to be IB officers from Delhi. They conducted a fake raid, accusing the shop owner, Shankar Singh Rathod (39), of illegal activities related to exchanging gold for cash and demanded Rs25 lakh as a bribe.
Rathod, after paying them Rs11.50 lakh, grew suspicious and later checked with his contacts, finding there was no such IB team visiting Mumbai. Realizing he had been scammed, Rathod promptly approached the VP Road police and lodged a complaint.
The police launched an investigation and examined CCTV footage from the store and surrounding areas, which helped identify the suspects. The VP Road Police acted quickly, and all four accused were arrested on Thursday night.
The case has sparked outrage, and authorities have warned the public to be cautious of such frauds. Further investigation is ongoing to determine if the accused have been involved in similar incidents.
