Noida: Five men have been arrested for extorting Rs 29 lakh from a GST consultant three weeks back by threatening him with a fake e-way bill verification case, police said. They cracked the case using CCTV footage and human intelligence and have recovered the entire amount in cash and jewellery.The incident took place on July 20, when three armed men, one of them dressed as a cop, intercepted the consultant Sandeep Kumar’s car near Ace Aspire Society in Techzone IV, Greater Noida. Kumar had left home in his Grand Vitara to hand over a laptop to his colleague and had taken his dog along.The men had allegedly told Kumar they were GST officials and got into his car. Police said the men drove the consultant around and threatened to send him to jail unless he paid them Rs 50 lakh. The demand was later scaled down to Rs 29 lakh. His brother later brought the money in cash, after which the men released him.Police registered a case of extortion on Aug 9 and, with the help of CCTV footage found at the Jewar toll plaza, surveillance and intelligence, identified the suspects. Kashish Chauhan alias Ishu, Rajesh Pawar, Vivek Sharma, Ankit Shahi and Anshul were arrested near the ISKCON temple on Jalpura Road Tuesday.Central Noida DCP Shailendra Kumar Singh said Rs 24.5 lakh in cash and jewellery worth Rs 4.5 lakh were recovered. Seven mobile phones, a pair of police sub-inspector uniforms, a Delhi Civil Defence uniform bearing its logo, a cord, a belt and two vehicles allegedly used in the crime were seized.The investigation revealed that Sandeep Kumar had been on Chauhan’s radar since 2021. He knew that Kumar had received a notice from the GST department related to alleged irregularities in records and thought that it could be exploited for financial gain. He allegedly began monitoring Kumar’s movements and planned the extortion.Police said it was Chauhan who had worn the police sub-inspector’s uniform on the day of the kidnapping. He was seen driving the Grand Vitara in the toll plaza CCTV footage. The dog had been handed over to Vivek Sharma on Yamuna Expressway. Kumar had been made to sit in the rear seat with Chand, while Rajesh occupied the front passenger seat.The cops have clarified that none of the five men is a police officer. However, the investigation has found that some of them had links with police or civil defence services. Chauhan has been working as a driver-cum-pump operator at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka. Rajesh Pawar was associated with the Delhi Civil Defence. Vivek Sharma previously worked as a driver-cum-pump operator at Escorts, Mujesar, Ballabhgarh. Ankit Shahi works in an iron grille and gate manufacturing factory in Salarpur while Anshul works with a realtor in Delhi.
