New Delhi:
With the arrest of three persons, the Delhi Police today claimed to have smashed a gang of extortionists who allegedly targeted MPs, gas agency owners and clinics conducting abortions.
The gang ran a cyber news channel www.dellitoday.com and allegedly used to threaten their targets that they would publish negative news reports against them if they do not pay them money, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ashok Chand said.
The arrested have been identified as Pankaj Gupta (26), Raj Narain Tiwari (33) and Rajiv Kumar (31).
The arrests came following investigations into a complaint filed by one Vijender Kumar, who runs a registered facility for conducting medical termination of pregnancy, that a gang had threatened him to air a story against the clinic for "illegal" abortions.
"The complainant said it was found that the website contained a story of sting operation 'Kalyug ke Bhagwan' scandal exposed by an investigating journalist 'Pankaj Gupta'.
The caller demanded Rs 10 lakh for hushing of the matter," Chand said.
The complainant reached an agreement to pay Rs 6.5 lakh and out of that Rs 50,000 was to be paid immediately. "Upon Kumar informing us, we laid a trap and Gupta and Tiwari was arrested following which Kumar was also apprehended," he said.
The trio told police that apart from extorting money from the medical and maternity centre, they had planned to extort money from five other hospitals and nursing homes in Mayur Vihar area regarding which they had already conducted sting operations.
Gupta is the alleged kingpin of the racket. He along with Tiwari allegedly formed an extortion syndicate.
"They decided to conduct sting operation on clinics conducting abortions. Gupta got a website registered
www.dellitoday.com and claimed to be a freelance investigating journalist. They visited the clinics and with the help of hidden camera prepared videos," Chand said.
"They just talked to the staff and doctors of the clinic for conducting abortion. Later they uploaded the video on their website and then contacted the owner of the clinics home for extortion," he said.
Gupta is a graduate from Deen Dayal University in Gorakhpur.
In 2005, he came to Delhi and met Tiwari who is the self-styled CEO of www.ujalanews.com and chairman of NETV productions.
Tiwari along with Gupta and other associates allegedly started extorting money from gas agency owners on the pretext that they have done sting operations against their delivery men for stealing gas from a cylinder and transferring it to another cylinder.
In 2007, Gupta, Tiwari and Patel along with other associates allegedly attempted to cheat four sitting MPs. They approached them on the pretext of being a Union Minister's associates and stated that he would prepare a proposal on behalf of the MP and submit it to Planning Commission.
"The MP had only to append his signature to the proposal. The Scheme would involve crore of rupees and out of the sanctioned amount five per cent would be given as commission. Four cases of cheating were registered against the extortion syndicate," Chand said.