The Bidanasi Police in Cuttack has arrested a youth from Jharkhand on the charges of demanding Rs 50 lakh from a city-based medical doctor by issuing threats. The accused, identified as Emroz Ansari alias Imran (29), belongs to Chaibosa district of the neighbouring state.
Imran had alleged tried to extort the amount from Dr.Shami Salim by claiming to be a Naxal. The accused had even threatened to kill the doctor and kidnap his family members if he failed to pay up the protection money.
ACP Tapas Pradhan said on Wednesday that Imran had earlier made a similar threat call and demanded Rs 50 lakh from Niral Purty, an MLA from Majgaon constituency in Jharkhand. Though the Jharkhand Police had managed to reach up to Barbil in Odisha on his trail, they had failed to track him down.
“After the threat call was received by the Cuttack doctor and Rs 50 lakh was demanded on the pretext of Naxal protection money, we started a probe. We found that the accused had used a SIM which was procured from (and activated in) Dhenkanal using forged documents,” said Pradhan.
Pradhan further said that special teams were formed after as SIM card’s location showed different parts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj in Odisha and neighbouring Jharkhand.
“After a mounting protracted technical surveillance and on basis of ground intelligence, we finally managed to nab the accused on February 1. One mobile phone and two SIM cards have been seized from his possession. Further investigation is underway to ascertain his links with any Naxal group,” Pradhan added.