Another FIR against portal founder for extortion, ‘fake news’

Noida: Another FIR was registered against the founder of TriCity news portal, Pankaj Parashar, for allegedly threatening a contractual staffer of Greater Noida Authority who refused to share sensitive information on a project and for publishing fake news.The complainant, who was working on a crucial ERP/SAP software project in 2021-22, alleged he was asked to share key information by Parashar and an aide Rajendra. "When I refused, they threatened to kill me and get me fired from my job," he said in his complaint.In 2022, TriCity ran a news story claiming that the SAP project was actually a Rs 300-crore scam. The report also alleged that GM (planning) Meena Bhargava was involved in the scam.Greater Noida Authority officials had contested the Rs 300-crore scam allegation then, pointing out that the total cost of the project was only Rs 63 crore."Since I declined to share information on the project, they ran another piece of fake news that my appointment was unauthorised. When I learnt that Pankaj Parashar had been arrested, I submitted this written complaint at Surajpur police station," the Greater Noida Authority contractual staffer said.Police said Parashar also demanded Rs 1 lakh from the complainant and Meena. "The demanded accused Rs 1 lakh a month from the complainant and Meena Bhargava if they did not want the news to be published. The money was transferred on some occasions too," said DCP Shakti Mohan Avasthy.This is the seventh case to be registered against the TriCity founder and the third against Rajendra. Parashar has been accused of extortion and fraud in previous FIRs, with police alleging he had connections with scrap mafia Ravi Kana, who was also arrested last year. "Cases have already been registered at various police stations against the accused for extorting money from other people in a similar manner by threatening to kill them and by running false news on channels," Avasthy added.Police said investigations would continue into both the extortion complaint and the broader allegations of unethical property conversion.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's Day wishes, messages and quotes !