3 city cops, another arrested forstaging drama, extorting 17 lakh

Jaipur: City police Friday arrested four persons, including three of its constables, for allegedly extorting Rs 17 lakh from a man after detaining and intimidating him during a staged roadside interception in Mansarovar on Wednesday.The cops in cahoots with one Yogesh Patel, who allegedly had a monetary dispute with the victim, and his relative Pawan Kumar Gurjar (36) set up the whole drama to extort money, police said.
Police arrested Gurjar, a relative of Patel who conspired with him; Babulal Meena (40) and Anil Kumar Ragera (38), both constables with the Mansarovar police station; and Kailash Chand (37), a constable posted at Narayan Vihar station, in the case. Patel managed to flee with the money extorted from the victim.In his complaint, the victim, who works with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in the Northeast, alleged that he was unlawfully stopped, threatened with false criminal cases that could jeopardise his job, and coerced into paying a large sum.DCP (South) Rajarshi Raj Varma said the incident occurred when the victim and his acquaintance, Patel, were travelling in a vehicle near Bharat Mata Circle on Wednesday. A policeman intercepted the car and accused the victim of wrongful activities. "The complainant was made to sit inside the car, while Patel was sent away on the pretext of arranging money," said an officer. During the probe, police found that Patel was fully aware that the complainant had kept a large amount of cash at his PG hostel. The probe revealed that the interception was not random but part of a carefully planned extortion attempt.Police said Patel, who had a monetary dispute with the complainant, conspired with his cousin, Gurjar, a café operator in Mansarovar who had contacts with local policemen.After intercepting the vehicle, the complainant's younger brother, Suneel, was sent to the hostel to fetch the cash. He handed the money over to Patel, who fled with the loot.The victim was subsequently driven around the Swarn Path area and later dropped near a Metro station, where he was told the matter was ‘settled' and allowed to leave in an autorickshaw.Police later uncovered that Patel brought the complainant to the spot in his car, staged his exit, and fled after ensuring the money was collected, making the incident appear like a routine police action. Police are yet to ascertain how much money was promised to each constable, and whether they got the money promised to them.The complainant approached the police on Wednesday and was initially reluctant to file an FIR. "We asked him to register an FIR, but he kept dilly-dallying," said an officer, adding that the complainant then asked police if the case could be withdrawn."There is a separate probe about why the accused kept such a large amount of cash with him and how he got it," said an officer.