Fake raids, real police personnel extort Kanpur residents of lakhs; 5 arrested

A gang in Kanpur, dressed in police uniforms, extorted lakhs in the name of conducting raids. However, the real twist in the story is that the perpetrators weren't just dressed as police, they were actually part of the force.

In a shocking case from Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, police arrested five men for posing as officers from the STF or crime branch to extort money. The investigation revealed that the gang included a home guard, PRD jawans and the kingpin, traffic sub-inspector Ajit Yadav.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the gang, dressed in police uniforms and using hooter-fitted vehicles, specifically targeted sex rackets, Oyo hotels and gambling dens. They allegedly beat up the victims and threatened to circulate their objectionable videos, extorting lakhs of rupees.

DCP (West) Dinesh Tripathi said the accused had also confessed to two incidents of robbery. During interrogation, they admitted to receiving the extorted money through the  Mahadev betting app. 

Who are the 5 people arrested in the case?

The arrested accused have been identified as the following:

• Rajiv Dixit, Home Guard
• Varsha Chauhan, PRD jawan
• Arvind Shukla of Kanpur
• Anirudh Singh of Kanpur Dehat
• Anuj Kumar alias Dumpy Yadav of Kannauj

The gang leader, a traffic sub-inspector, is absconding.

How were they caught?

According to media reports, the gang first came under the scanner on Saturday when they extorted a Rawatpur resident, Ambika Singh Chandel.

Posing as STF personnel, the gang threatened to jail her in a fake case. They then allegedly beat her and others present in the house, extorted ₹1.40 lakh in cash, and demanded an additional 30,000 through online transfer.

Ambika, suspicious of the gang of 8-10 people, alerted the police. The gang had left the scene by the time the police arrived, but Ambika had noted down their vehicle number, which gave the police a lead.

On Wednesday afternoon, the same gang reached the house of Aditya Mishra, a resident of Hanumanth Vihar, when his friends, including female friends, were present. The gang allegedly threatened him with a fake sex racket case and took ₹30,000 cash and ₹1.25 lakh online from him and his friends. 

Aditya also informed the police of the incident and gave them the vehicle's numbers.