Man held for demanding Rs 50 lakh extortion from academic

A man has been arrested for allegedly demanding an extortion of Rs 50 lakh from the chairman of a private group of colleges here, police said today.
Ranjit was arrested yesterday from Nidholikalan kotwali for allegedly demanding the extortion money from Zakir Husain on August 26, they said.
The accused demanded the money using a mobile phone and a SIM card procured on fake identity details, they said.
Ranjit had got the SIM allegedly with the help of Himanshu and Vijay who have also been arrested, police said.
ASP Visarajan Singh Yadav said that Ranjit wanted to work in films and he needed the money to produce an album of his own before going to Mumbai.

Police have also recovered a country made pistol and cartridges from Ranjit's possession, he said.