2 pose as CBI officials, extort ₹50L from man

AS THE VICTIM WANTED TO CLEAR HIS NAME IN A CRIMINAL CASE, HE HAD APPROACHED THE TWO ACCUSED WHO POSED AS CBI OFFICIALS

MUMBAI: The MHB Colony police on Monday arrested two men for posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials and extorting ₹50 lakh from a 52-yearold man in return for clearing his name in a criminal case.

When the man refused to pay up more money, the duo threatened to slap false cases against him and kill him in a staged encounter. The police managed to arrest the impostors after the man’s 49-year-old wife registered a complaint.

The accused have been identified as Ashwinkumar Sharma, 52, and Sajid Varekar, 40.

According to the police, the victim, who lived in Kandivli (West), was booked in a case registered by the CBI. One of his friends was aware of this. When the friend took the man to Bandra-kurla Complex in July 2018 , he introduced him to Sharma, who posed as a CBI officer and promised to clear his name from the case in exchange for ₹1 crore.

As the victim was struggling with depression because he was named an accused in a criminal case, he said he would think about it. When he did not respond, Sharma and Varekar threatened to implicate him in more CBI cases and kill him in an encounter.

When the man caved in, he gave them ₹50 lakh in cash and a car worth ₹27 lakh. When the threats continued, he approached the MHB Colony police.

On instructions of DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar (zone 11) a trap was laid to catch Sharma and Varekar when the man set up a meeting to pay the balance amount. Senior inspector Pandit Thakare said the accused have previous extortion cases against them.