Extortionist carrying toy pistol arrested in Srinagar

An alleged extortionist who was found to be carrying a fake pistol during a routine check was arrested here, police said Tuesday.

Muhammad Saleem, son of Ghulam Muhammad, a resident of Safa Kadal in the city was arrested during checking in Saddar Court complex when he was found to be carrying a pistol.

"The pistol later turned out to be a toy pistol. He is a known extortionist who used to threaten people with his fake weapon," a senior police officer told IANS.

The alleged extortionist had gone to the court Tuesday in connection with an old case in which he had jumped bail.

Reports also said he had been carrying some printed letterheads on which he would send threats to extort money from his victims.