Fake TV journalist, sham food inspector held on extortion charges

The Ghaziabad police has arrested two persons on charges of trying to extort money from an Indirapuram's sweetmeat shop owner while posing as a TV journalist and a food inspector, police said on Sunday.

The fake TV journalist identified as Sanjay Singh would threaten to "expose" the shop owner by telecasting news on the sale of adulterated sweets by the shop while the man identified as Sunil Kumar, posing as area food inspector, would threaten to lift the food sample and initiate legal proceedings which would lead to the shopkeeper's arrest, said Indirapuranm police station in-charge Deepak Sharma.

The police also seized two mikes, 10 identity cards and 18 stickers of Crime News 7 channel, 8 pass books, some cash and several ATM cards from the duo, said Sharma.

He said the two were trying to extort Rs 20,000 from a sweetmeat shop owner of Mangal Chowk bazaar in Shakti Khand area of Indirapuram, he said.

The police arrested them after lodging an FIR for committing penal offences of extortion and cheating and produced them in a Ghaziabad court, which sent the duo to Dasna jail under judicial custody.