Journalist held for extortion, land-grab faces 50 complaints

Police said that Dixit, who until his arrest was employed with a vernacular news channel and is a former president of the Kanpur Press Club, was leading a gang involved in land-grabbing, extortion, blackmail, fraud, and other illegal activities. His gang members comprised builders, journalists and lawyers, they said.

In all, Dixit faces 13 cases of which seven were filed earlier, a senior officer said. Police have issued a press statement, inviting the public to file complaints, along with proof, against those claiming to be journalists or YouTubers and issuing threats or attempting to extort money. Police have also released the mobile numbers of four senior officials, assuring action on the complaints after inquiry.

A SIT led by Additional Commissioner of Police Vipin Kumar Mishra has been formed to probe the cases. “We have requested people to come forward with details about those involved in extortion. We have got 50 complaints related to Dixit, and inquiries are on… Dixit is named in most of the complaints,” ACP Harish Chander said.

Police arrested Dixit on July 29 for his alleged involvement in an attempt to grab prime land of Rs 1,000 crore in Kanpur’s Kotwali area. Dixit was sent to 10-day police remand on Wednesday after he remained in judicial custody.