‘Jharkhand criminals posing as Maoists to extort money’
June 20th, 2012 - 6:41 pm ICT by IANSRanchi, June 20 (IANS) Criminals have been extorting money from businessmen and companies in Jharkhand posing as Maoists, a police official said Wednesday.
“In the past six months, some cases have come to our notice where criminals tried to extort money posing as Maoists,” Inspector General of Police (operations) S.N. Pradhan told IANS here.
Pradhan cited a recent case from Pakur district, over 350 km from here, where a criminal gang demanded money from the transporters of the Panem coal mines on behalf of Maoists. “The criminals have been identified,” he added.
To deal with such cases, police will soon advertise toll free numbers, Pradhan said.
“We will keep the identity of the caller secret. Our aim is to remove fear among people. The information given by them will help us in identifying the perpetrators of such extortion calls.”
Pradhan appealed to people to immediately inform police on getting extortion calls.
“Not all extortion calls come from Maoists. Even if a call is found to be made by them, police will take stern action against them. Identity of informants will be kept secret,” he said.
Maoist guerrillas, who are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand, are believed to generate around Rs.300 crore per annum from extortion and illegal tax collection in the state.
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- Five men posing as Maoists held for extortion - Dec 27, 2010
- Huge explosives haul made in Jharkhand - Feb 02, 2012
- Maoist leader arrested in Jharkhand - Jun 09, 2012
- Fake Maoist gang busted in Odisha - Mar 13, 2012
- Teacher held for posing as Maoist extorting Rs.2 crore - May 14, 2011
- Jharkhand police arrest top Maoist leader in Simdega Distrcit - Oct 14, 2010
- Three Maoist guerrillas arrested in Jharkhand - Dec 28, 2011
- Maoists kill three of rival group - Jun 06, 2011
- Maoist torch three coal trucks - Jun 15, 2011
- Woman killed in Maoist-police gunbattle in Jharkhand - Jun 01, 2011
- Jharkhand doctor alleges extortion call by Maoists - Apr 23, 2010
- Ghaziabad police arrest extortionist - Feb 17, 2010
- Two 'crime reporters' arrested for extortion - Feb 26, 2012
Tags: aim, annum, businessmen, coal mines, criminal gang, criminals, crore, extortion, informants, inspector general, maoist, maoist guerrillas, maoists, perpetrators, police official, police operations, six months, stern action, toll free numbers, transporters