Fake cops extort ₹3 crore from Hyderabad trader
HYDERABAD: A group of men posing as Special Operations Team (SOT) police officers allegedly extorted ₹3 crore from a shrimp trader in Hyderabad after confining him for nearly eight hours at his residence in Kukatpally.
Police said the incident occurred at a flat in Marina Sky Apartments, Moosapet, where the trader, Harish Kumar Raju, a native of Andhra Pradesh, was staying on rent along with his friend Raji Reddy.
According to investigators, five men arrived at the flat around 11 am on Friday and introduced themselves as SOT personnel from Madhapur police station. They told the trader that they had information he was running betting operations and threatened to book a case against him.
The accused allegedly demanded ₹3 crore to drop the case. When the trader told them he did not have that amount, they assaulted him and forced him to call relatives and friends to arrange money, police said.
The suspects remained in the flat until around 7 pm. During this period, Harish Kumar managed to call a close relative and told him that police had taken him into custody and that money was urgently required.
Suspecting something was amiss, the relative alerted Madhapur SOT personnel, who rushed to the spot. By the time police arrived, three of the accused had fled. Two were taken into custody from the flat.
During questioning, police identified three more suspects involved in the crime. The arrested accused were identified as Narasimha Raju (40), a real estate dealer from LB Nagar; Ravindra Babu (36) from Saroornagar; and Prashanth (34) and Naresh (37) from Habsiguda. Another suspect, Ravi Kumar (36), is absconding.
Police said Narasimha Raju had allegedly suffered financial losses in betting, and one of his friends had died by suicide following similar losses. Investigators believe this may have prompted the accused to target the trader by impersonating police officers.
A case has been registered, and four of the accused have been arrested. Efforts are on to trace the absconding suspect.
Kukatpally inspector K V Subba Rao said the accused claimed that the trader was involved in betting activities, and police were also probing the matter from that angle.
