Laptop, mobile of 'extortionist' seized from city lodge

Kolkata Police today claimed to have seized the laptop and mobile phone of an alleged extortionist, who was making threat calls to people including a former MP from Bihar, from a lodge here.
Acting on a tip-off that an extortion racket was being operated from a lodge in Muchipara police station limits, the police raided it last week and recovered a laptop and a mobile but the accused was absconding, DC Central Akhilesh Chaturvedi told reporters.
Initial investigations revealed that extortion calls and texts were sent to former Bihar MP Devendra Pratap Yadav and that was later confirmed when the politician was contacted by the investigators, he said.

"We had rang up Mr Yadav who confirmed receiving the call for extortion of around Rs five crore or the caller will release video footage purportedly showing the leader accepting money," he said.
The room in the lodge was found locked from outside and the occupant was not found there.
"We waited for him to come back but when he did not return, we broke open the door of the room and found one laptop and a mobile phone," Chaturvedi said.

Later, police found that the photo identity proof produced by the occupant of the room, known as Bikram Singh, was fake, he said.

A case has been lodged with Muchipara Police Station against an unknown person under Indian Penal Code Sections 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation).
A police officer, who refused to be quoted, said that video footages of former Narada news CEO Mathew Samuel were found in the laptop.