Two held for bid to extort Rs 25 lakh from Thane deputy registrar

Thane, Nov 16 (PTI) Police have arrested two persons for allegedly posing as a journalist and a social activist to threaten a joint deputy registrar in Maharashtra's Thane district and attempt to extort Rs 25 lakh from him, officials said on Sunday.

According to the victim, three persons made defamatory complaints against him to his superiors, spread false information about him in the media and threatened to get him suspended if he failed to give them Rs 25 lakh, a police release said.

Based on the victim's complaint, the police's anti-extortion squad laid a trap and nabbed one of the accused near a restaurant in the Kalwa area on Friday after he allegedly accepted Rs 20 lakh from him.

Another accused was taken into custody from Mira Bhayander in Thane district, the police said, adding that they have been booked under Sections 308(2) (extortion) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The arrested accused were on Saturday produced before a local court which remanded them in police custody till November 18, the release said. PTI COR GK