Three men held for trying to extort Rs 20 lakh from scrap dealer in Delhi

Police said Kumar, a heart patient, told the caller about his medical condition, but the threats continued the next day. The caller allegedly told him that the gang would come personally to collect the cash.

Fearing for his life, Kumar remained confined to his house and approached police on January 16. An FIR was registered in Shahbad Dairy police station under sections related to extortion and criminal intimidation, said police.

Police analysed the call detail records of the extortion number and tracked the handset’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), which revealed that the same device had been used with two other numbers that were switched off to avoid detection. Further analysis led investigators to a number registered in Rohini.

Using a combination of technical surveillance, live location tracking and ground intelligence, police conducted a raid and arrested three men – Chirag Mahendru (25), Ashutosh Kumar Pandey (26) and Ankit Mishra (26), all residents of Rohini, police said.

According to the police, Chirag was the alleged kingpin, while the others were said to have assisted him in making the extortion calls.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the accused were involved in other extortion attempts in North Delhi, officers said. Police also urged people to report such threats immediately and not give in to intimidation.