4 men posed as CBI sleuths to extort money, arrested
BUSTED The group was inspired by a Bollywood movie, police say
GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad police have busted a gang of four led by a man who wanted to work for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) but ended up cheating people in the name of the premier investigating agency.
The four arrested men, allegedly inspired by the Bollywood movie ‘Special 26’ released in 2013, conducted fake raids and promised people jobs in the agency.
The alleged mastermind wanted to become a CBI officer but he was unable to crack the entrance exams.
Vishal Dubey, the leader of the gang, his cousin Vivek Dubey and two of their friends, Rahul Sharma and Sandeep Kumar, were arrested near Samrat Hotel in Indirapuram on Friday.
The two cousins belong to Bihar while the other two are students and residents of Bhovapur locality in Ghaziabad. They have cheated more than two dozen people.
“The four had been active for nearly two months. They wore khaki trousers and white shirt and posed as CBI sleuths. They hired an SUV and often raided people in name of checking. They would extort money from them on the promise that they would not be disturbed by the agency,” said Vaibhav Krishna, SSP, Ghaziabad.
The police recovered forged CBI letter heads, seals and ID cards from them.
THE MASTERMIND WANTED TO BECOME A CBI OFFICER BUT HE WAS UNABLE TO CRACK THE ENTRANCE EXAMS, POLICE OFFICIALS SAID
“Initially, they lured unemployed youths, promising them jobs in the CBI. Rahul and Sandeep were their victims but later they decided to join the cousin duo and work with them,” SSP Krishna said.
According to the police, Vishal had tried to crack the SSC exams and wanted to join the CBI but he could not clear it.
Later, he got an idea from the movie Special 26 and decided to blackmail people.
The film is inspired by the 1987 Opera House heist where a group posing as CBI officers executed an income tax raid on a jeweller in Mumbai.
The officials said Vishal’s cousin Vivek was also preparing for the SSC examination. Rahul is an MSC student and Sandeep is a BSC student from colleges in Bihar.
The two are natives of Rohtash and Shravasti districts in Bihar and presently residing at Bhovapur in Ghaziabad.
The police conducted a raid when the men were heading to Loni to conduct a ‘raid’ and arrested them.
The four men were booked under IPC section for cheating (420), cheating by personation (419), and forgery (468) at Indirapuram police station.