Bihar: Four arrested for demanding Rs 50 lakh in extortion from marine captain

Patna, May 21 (IANS) Patna Police in Bihar have arrested four persons for allegedly demanding an extortion amount of Rs 50 lakh from a Marine Captain, who was overseeing house construction work in the Digha police station area.

The case came to light after the victim reported receiving threats demanding payment in exchange for being allowed to continue construction on his property.

The accused allegedly threatened the Marine Captain with dire consequences if the demand was not met.

Upon receiving the complaint, Digha police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which used technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and call detail records (CDRs) to identify and apprehend the suspects.

The Station House Officer (SHO) of Digha Police Station confirmed the arrests. The accused have been identified as Shatrudhan Rai alias Bheema, Lalu Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Pankaj Kumar. All are residents of the Digha locality, and they have a criminal history as well.

All four are believed to be part of a local criminal gang. The police also recovered objectionable material during the arrests, although details have not yet been made public.

According to Digha SHO, investigations are ongoing and more arrests are expected in connection with the case.

The district police are investigating the line of their criminal activities as they have extorted some more persons, but they did not report to the police.

Notably, in 2016, gang wars and extortion threats linked to the JP Ganga Path (Marine Drive) project stirred public alarm. There have also been incidents of violence during police operations and encroachment drives.

--IANS

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