Noida STF arrests two persons for extortion

NOIDA: Two persons were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly extorting money from a man in Greater Noida. The suspects were identified as Atul Kasana, 22, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Arun, 32, alias Master, a resident of Badalpur in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The complainant Rajkumar (known by his first name only) said his nephew Omveer, 25, sold his property in Badalpur and shifted away two years ago. “Arun told me that Omveer owed him ₹24 lakh, and since Omveer had left the place, I should clear his dues,” he said.

He added that soon he started getting suspicious calls from numbers that appeared to have originated in the United States. The person on the other end of the line threatened to kill him if he failed to pay Arun. Rajkumar said he feared for his safety and paid Arun ₹30,000, but was unable to pay more.

Raj Kumar Mishra, additional superintendent of police, Noida Special Task Force (STF), said a case was registered against unknown persons under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Badalpur police station on September 2. “We launched an investigation and found that Arun and his accomplice were involved in making these extortion calls. On Wednesday, we called Arun for questioning at the STF office in Surajpur. During interrogation, he revealed that he had hired Atul Kasana to extort money from Rajkumar,” he said.

The two persons were then arrested.

The police said that Section 386 (extortion) and Section 66 D of the IT Act have been added to the FIR.

“The two suspects were produced in court and sent to judicial custody,” said police.