Eight persons were today arrested for allegedly impersonating as Maoists and extorting money from traders and contractors in Maripeda town of the district.
The arrested accused have been identified as L Malsar Bayyaram, Nagendra, A Venkata Narayana, Md Afsar, B Naveen, Md Saleem, M Pavan Kumar and V Venkanna Bayyaram, Superintendent of Police Warangal (Rural) G Pal Raj told reporters.
The accused had teamed with the intention to extort money, Pal Raj said adding that they had purchased two China-made 7.6 mm rifles, three dummy pistols and other material from Bihar.
The accused had threatened some contractors and traders in Khammam, Warangal districts and extorted Rs 15 lakh, police added.
During the interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, police said adding that the weapons and other material was recovered from them.
Further investigation is on.
