Two cops posing as DIG, SP abduct three from Noida, seek Rs 10-cr extortion

Two Punjab Police personnel, along with their aides, raided an office of an online trading firm in Noida where the duo posed themselves as DIG and SP from the Chandigarh cybercrime wing and abducted three online traders, identified as Tarun Agarwal, a resident of Mahadeep Apartment, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Herat Shah, a resident of New Mani Nagar, Ahmedabad, and Burai Raj of Tamil Nadu on the pretext of investigating a cyber fraud case.

As the suspects failed to get Rs 10-crore extortion, they still managed to loot 4,650 US dollars, one lakh cash, an Apple mobile, an Apple watch and another mobile. They brought the victims to the cyber police station in Khanna and asked the in-charge, SI Nirpinderpal Singh, for action for committing cyber fraud but the officer during investigation caught the lies of the police personnel and found that the latter deliberately abducted them for extortion. The SI registered a case on the charges of abduction, extortion, cheating against them and their aides.

As per the police, the three victims, who were abducted, were doing some online trading business in Noida and the Khanna police to verify the matter, had written to the Noida police to check if they are into legal or illegal buisness.

The suspects were identified as head constable Balwinder Singh, ASI Kuldeep Singh, Karandeep Singh, a resident of New Janta Nagar, Shimlapuri, Gagandeep Singh, alias Apple, of Jujhar Nagar, Shimlapuri, Mani of Giaspura and one unidentified person. Balwinder is posted with some SP-rank officer of the Punjab Police while ASI Kuldeep is posted with the GRP.

Karandeep was arrested by the police while raids were on to nab the remaining suspects.

In the FIR, one of the victims, an online trader, Tarun Aggarwal, who along with his two aides, was abducted from his Noida office told SI Nirpinderpal that “I was present in my office in Noida on September 15 where four persons barged into it, where Balwinder Singh introduced himself as SP and Kuldeep Singh, alias Apple, introduced himself as DIG and Karandeep Singh, who was carrying a weapon, posed himself as a gunman of Balwinder and the fourth person was in a police uniform, with a tattoo on his neck. His height was about 6 feet. He pushed aside staff of my office and took away everyone’s mobile phones and laptops. They took me along with Herat and Burai in a vehicle and said there was a complaint against us at the Chandigarh cybercrime wing and they came to arrest us. They put us in a black MG Hector and a black Kia Seltos and brought us to Ludhiana around 4 am at Zamindar Dhaba, where they kept us in a room. They asked us to pay Rs 10-crore extortion if we want to leave. There Kuldeep Singh, who posed himself as DIG, came and asked us to pay only Rs 5 crore and as we refused to arrange that much money and asked for Rs 2 crore finally. I called my brother who said he could arrange only Rs 10 lakh. Thereafter, the suspects took us to the Sahnewal police station where they kept us in a car and Balwinder went inside and returned after 30 minutes and again asked to settle the deal at Rs 70 lakh. We were then brought to the Khanna police station where lies of the suspects were exposed.”

The SI stated in the FIR that when Balwinder and Karandeep were interrogated, they admitted that they committed a mistake and tried to extort money from three persons by conducting a raid. Balwinder under the pretext of calling his other aides went out of the police station and didn’t return. Further probe was on in the matter.