Koraput: The Koraput police In Odisha on Sunday arrested four persons for allegedly extorting money from people posing as outlawed Maoists.
The arrested miscreants have been identified as Rabindra Mahanandia, Dhiren Mahanandia, Badal Mahanandia, and Kajal Mahanandia. All the accused belong to Koraput.
According to reports, a four-member fake Maoist gang, including three youths and a woman, used to threaten people for extortion. They threatened their targets that they would be summoned to “people’s court” (kangaroo court) if the latter failed to cough up the money they demanded.
Police took up the matter seriously after a victim filed a written complaint against the four fake Maoists at Padua police station in the district and formed a special team on the direction of Koraput district SP Abhinav Sonkar. The team included the IICs of Damanjodi and Semiliguda, while the DVF personnel were led by SDPO, Nandipur.
Talking to the media, SP Abhinav Sonkar said that the special team traced the fake Maoists and kept track of their movements. “All the four members of the gang were nabbed while they were taking extortion money from one of their targetted persons,” the SP said.
The police have seized Rs 50,000 in cash, a two-wheeler and five mobile phones from the possession of the accused.
