Former employee among two held for Rs 10 lakh extortion bid in Delhi's Rohini

A 26-year-old former employee of a company and his associate were arrested for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 10 lakh from a Rohini resident by threatening to kill him and his family, police said on Wednesday.

A 15-year-old juvenile allegedly involved in the crime was also apprehended, they said.

The case came to light on August 29 when the complainant, a resident of Sector 23 in Rohini, received three threatening calls from a mobile number, a senior police officer said.

The caller allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh and threatened to kill the complainant and his family. The accused also claimed during the calls that they were members of the Neeraj Bawania gang, the officer said.

The complainant approached Begumpur police station on August 30 and reported the extortion attempt. He continued to receive threatening calls on August 30 and 31, with the callers repeatedly demanding Rs 10 lakh, police said.

An FIR was subsequently registered at Begumpur police station and an investigation launched.

Police teams then devised a trap and lured the suspects to an area near Rithala Metro Station on the pretext of collecting the extortion money.

"During the operation, two people who arrived at the spot on a motorcycle were apprehended. Based on information provided during the investigation, another participant allegedly involved in planning the offence was also apprehended," the officer said.

The accused were identified as Suraj, 26, and Kishan, 18. A 15-year-old juvenile was also apprehended in connection with the case.

According to police, Suraj had previously worked for the complainant's company and is suspected to be the main conspirator behind the extortion attempt.

"Suraj had previously worked in the complainant's company and is suspected to be the main conspirator. During the investigation, police found that Suraj had allegedly accumulated a debt of around Rs 5 lakh through online gaming and gambling. He planned the extortion bid to arrange money to meet his financial obligations," the officer said.

Investigators also found that Suraj and Kishan had allegedly snatched a mobile phone in the Bawana area and later used it in connection with the extortion offence, police said.

One motorcycle, two mobile phones and two stolen SIM cards have been recovered from the accused.

Police are examining the source and use of the recovered SIM cards and digital devices as part of the investigation. Call-detail records and other digital evidence are also being analysed to establish the complete sequence of events.

Further investigation is underway, police said.