MP coaching class director, teacher held for extortion threats

A coaching class director and a teacher were arrested on Monday for allegedly demanding "protection money" by posing as members of a Bihar-based gang, Indore police in Madhya Pradesh said.

Anandam coaching class director Anand Agarwal (49) and Santosh Meena (30), an English teacher there, were held for posing as members of Bihar's "Khalid Munnabhai giroh (gang)" and sending threat messages on Whatsapp to people demanding Rs 10 lakh, Senior Superintendent of Police Ruchivardhan Mishra told reporters.

The SSP said the two spoke in a Bihari accent to fool their victims, used SIM cards obtained through fake documents to communicate, and had opened bank accounts in the names of different people to receive money.

They had plans to target officials in the region and had collected details on the basis of nameplates installed outside houses, she said.