Bargarh: Three persons, including a Forest department official here, were arrested by Bargarh Town police on charges of extortion from local contractors and government servants reportedly on behalf of the ultras, Sunday.
The three accused have been identified as Batakrushna Sethy (59) and his aides Dolagobinda Sahu alias Babulu (40) and Balaram Sahu (24) of Bhatli. Batakrushna Sethi has been posted as the deputy ranger of Sambalpur zone. His aides are siblings, it was learnt.
According to the local police, the three have been operating the racket since 2014. Till date they have extorted an amount of Rs 10.55 lakh from about 11 persons. According to reports, the three were threatening the moneyed people and extorting them by impersonating as Maoists.
Acting on the complaints filed by people in this regard, Bhatli police formed a team to monitor the activities of the miscreants. The team conducted raids at various locations in Bargarh Sunday and nabbed the three accused. Police also seized cash worth Rs 1.65 lakh, three mobile phones and two motorbikes from possession of the accused.
The three accused have been extorting huge amount of cash from reputed contractors and businessmen during the past four years by posing as Maoists. They were calling people over phone and threatening them, informed Bargarh SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo.
A trap was laid to catch the fake Maoists and eventually all the accused were arrested, he added.
PNN
