2 ARRESTED FOR EXTORTING ₹10L FROM EX-SENIOR DEPUTY MAYOR

GURUGRAM: Police arrested two people on Wednesday for allegedly implicating a BJP leader from Haryana, who was a senior deputy mayor of Gurugram, in false cases, blackmailing him and extorting money from him.

Yashpal Batra (39), a resident of New Colony, said a man identified as Rajender Pathak, approached him in November 2021 and informed he filed complaints against him at the behest of six people, who are senior officers in CBI and ED, for acquiring properties worth ₹362 crore through illegal means.

Batra said Pathak allegedly demanded ₹4 crore to settle the matter and threatened him that serious action will be taken against him and his family members if he failed to pay the amount. “I asked the man to organise a meeting with the ED and CBI officials, for which he called me to Delhi. I met them (the suspects) in a car for five minutes. The suspects posed as CBI and ED officers and showed me their IDs and visiting cards,” said Batra, adding that they kept demanding the money to withdraw the cases against him.

ACP (crime) Preet Pal Sangwan said, “Batra paid them ₹10 lakh as they threatened him that they will attach his properties and freeze his bank accounts.” Batra narrated the ordeal to one of his friends, who gave him the idea of recording the calls and the meetings with the suspects.

“A meeting was fixed in the victim’s car... They had installed CCTV cameras and voice recording devices in the car. Batra requested them to withdraw the complaints but they pressurised him to pay the remaining ₹3.90 crore,” said Sangwan. Police said when Batra showed the clip to his friends, they informed him that the suspects were part of a gang who extorted money from people after filing false complaints against them.

On Tuesday, Batra met the police commissioner and lodged a complaint against the suspects, after which a team was formed to investigate the case.