Hyderabad: The Osmania University police arrested four people who threatened a contractor by claiming to be Naxalite members of the banned CPI(ML) and demanded Rs 5 crore from him.
The accused persons are identified as Salonka Prasad, 36, Rathlavath Ravi Naik, 29, Kammari Sheshappa, 37 and Mandagula Sathaiah, 37.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Osmania University Jagan said that on September 26, the gang sent a WhatsApp message to a contractor named G Suresh, a resident of Tarnaka.
In the message, the arrested persons claimed to be members of Naxalite of CPI(ML) and demanded Rs. 5 crore ransom from Suresh or threatened to harm his relatives. When Suresh tried to ignore them, the gang sent him another message with details of his uncle, said the ACP.
The contractor then approached the Osmania University police who booked a case and a special team nabbed the four persons.
Prasad was facing financial problems and hence planned to earn money by extorting money from businessmen and contractors, said the police.
| Posted by Veena Nair | 
