Five arrested in Odisha for posing as Maoists to extort money

Five people were arrested for allegedly posing as Maoists and trying to extort money from a mine owner in Motu area of Odisha's naxal-hit Malkangiri district, police said.

The arrests were made on Sunday on the basis of a complaint filed by C Venugopal, who owns a granite mine in Peta area of the district, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) P S Meena said.

"In his complaint, Venugopal alleged that he received several messages on his mobile phone between November 5 and 21, asking him to cough up Rs 50 lakh.

The mine owner also said that the sender, who identified himself as a Maoist leader, threatened to blow up his office if the payment was not made," Meena explained.

After tracking the location of the mobile phone number, from which the messages were sent, police picked up one of the accused and interrogated him, he said.

Based on the information provided by him, four others were nabbed in the district, the SDPO said, adding that three of the five arrested were residents of Malkangiri and the other two hailed from neighbouring Telangana.