Gang of nine pulls off 'Special 26' act to extort Rs 20 crore from businessman, arrested

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said the accused sent two such forged notices to Hardev Singh, president of Nippon India Paints Ltd, and convinced him that the federal agency had registered a case against him.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has arrested a gang of nine people, including its leader, for allegedly extorting around Rs 20 crore from a Mumbai-based businessman after sending him forged Enforcement Directorate summons, officials said on Thursday. The accused apparently took inspiration from popular Bollywood movie 'Special 26', they said.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said the accused sent two such forged notices to Hardev Singh, president of Nippon India Paints Ltd, and convinced him that the federal agency had registered a case against him. They further told Singh that he was going to be in deep trouble and claimed they could sort the whole thing out through a liaison in the ED's Delhi office, Yadav added.

Singh then received more such fake notices by speed post and grew apprehensive. He contacted the accused for help, who demanded Rs 2-3 crore at first and also asked to meet in Delhi, the Crime Branch official said. On November 11, the victim tried to negotiate with the accused to reduce the amount but was asked to meet in person to settle the issue, he said.

The next day, Singh met two of the accused at the Mumbai airport and was told that the ED had detected alleged illegal properties worth thousands of crores but the issue could be settled for just a few crores. They asked Singh to pay for their flights to Delhi, as well as stay, so that they could sort everything out, the official added.

Giving in to their demands, Singh booked their flights and set up a meeting at a posh hotel in the national capital but the accused suddenly upped their demand to Rs 20 crore for negotiating and settling the case, Yadav said. After this, Singh approached the police and a case was registered, the officer said. The police said two of the accused were arrested from the hotel itself.

"During interrogation, they disclosed that three of their associates were present in a room at the same hotel," the official said. The police arrested them and then subsequent arrests were made, he added. The whole conspiracy was planned meticulously, and every role was preciously defined and enacted, the police said, adding that 12 mobile phones and a car have been seized. (PTI)