'IPS officer' tries to extort Rs 70 lakh from jeweller, held

A 31-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly posing as an IPS officer and trying to extort Rs 70 lakh from a jeweller, police said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the Mumbai police's Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) arrested the man, Santosh Misal alias Sandeepkumar Meena, from Nariman Point here on Monday evening, an official said.

The police recovered two fake identity cards of the CBI and a Maharashtra cabinet minister's personal assistant from Misal, who was posing as an "IPS officer" posted with the premier central agency, he said.

A Pune resident, Misal, who owns a business in Navi Mumbai, had tried to extort Rs 70 lakh from a jeweller, Harisingh Rao (41), by threatening him with action from the intelligence department, the official said.

Rao has clients in the city and neighbouring states, he said, adding two nephews of Mohanlal Gupta, his Hyderbad- based client, were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2016.

Rao last year got a phone call from an unidentified person who claimed he can help in release of Gupta's nephews on bail. The jeweller provided Gupta's contact details to the caller, the official said.

The unidentified person called Gupta and assured him that his nephews will be released on bail and demanded five kg of gold to facilitate the task, he added.

Months later, Rao received a call from Gupta saying he gave five kg of gold ornaments to the man, but his nephews continue to languish in jail, the official said.

In November 2019, Rao received a call from Misal, who claimed he was an IPS officer and told him to ask the man, who had taken five kg of gold, to return it to Gupta, he said.

When Rao told him he was unaware about the gold transaction, Misal threatened action against him from the intelligence department and asked him to pay up Rs 1.5 crore, the official said.

After negotiations, Rao agreed to pay the accused Rs 70 lakh and simultaneously filed a complaint against him with the Crime Branch, he said.

The Crime Branch's CIU laid a trap and nabbed Misal, who has been booked under section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code, the official said, adding further probe was underway.