Four of the men were arrested from Noida and one from Delhi. (File)
Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni has alleged an attempt to blackmail him with videos of the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, the police said as five people were arrested today.
The arrested men, all BPO workers, had tried to extort crores from Ajay Mishra, a junior Home Minister, claiming they had incriminating videos and other evidence on him linked to the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.
Ajay Mishra, the police said, reported the extortion calls on December 17 (last Friday), after which his house in Delhi was placed under surveillance.
Four of the men were arrested from Noida and one from Delhi.
"We received a complaint from the minister's staff that he had received phone calls for money. An FIR was lodged in the New Delhi district," said a Delhi Police officer.
The minister's son Ashish Mishra is accused of running over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3. He has been in jail since his arrest in October.
Both the minister and his son have denied that they were present in Lakhimpur Kheri when the minister's convoy rammed protesting farmers and crushed four of them.
After a Special Investigation Team recently called the incident a "planned conspiracy" and recommended new charges against Ashish Mishra, opposition parties demanded the minister's sacking from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.