Ludhiana: An international extortion racket targeting wealthy expatriates has unravelled in Punjab after two alleged rogue social media operators posing as mainstream journalists allegedly fleeced a British citizen over a staged legal dispute.Ludhiana’s rural police have smashed the local operation, charging two men with duping British national Amandeep Kaur of more than ₹1.2 lakh by fabricating high-level connections within the local civil and police administrations.The investigation has already sparked a dramatic legal standoff, triggering a 4am raid by a high court warrant officer on a local police station amid allegations of illegal detention.The dynamics of the fraud began when Amandeep Kaur of Nangal village, now visiting India, became embroiled in a civil court dispute in Jagraon. Following an altercation with the opposing party during a hearing, she sought out media coverage to highlight her case.Investigators claim that the suspects — Naseeb Singh and local YouTube channel operator Sony Sherpuri — intercepted the woman at the courthouse. Posing as influential journalists, the pair claimed they could manipulate the administrative system to resolve her complaint, extracting an initial upfront payment of ₹1 lakh.The extortion escalated on June 4 after the woman’s formal grievance was routed to senior superintendent of police Ankur Gupta, who assigned the matter to the Jagraon City police station for a routine inquiry. Seizing on the bureaucratic movement, the fraudulent journalists contacted the woman on June 8.They demanded an additional ₹5 lakh to guarantee “prompt action” via their alleged police contacts. When the woman stated she could not immediately liquidise that amount, the suspects coerced her into handing over a final cash payment of ₹20,000.She discovered subsequently that the men had no legitimate journalistic credentials and had fabricated their administrative influence, prompting her to lodge a criminal complaint.The police response has since triggered a separate legal battle. Following a formal inquiry, police arrested Naseeb Singh, while Sherpuri remains at large. Naseeb’s family moved the Punjab and Haryana high court, claiming officers were holding the suspect in illegal, unrecorded custody.The high court deployed a warrant officer to raid the Jagraon City police station at 4am on Tuesday to inspect the cells. However, records show the cops managed to officially log Naseeb’s arrest just before the judicial officer breached the facility.The warrant officer has seized all station logs, the FIR record, and electronic arrest timestamps to compile a report for the high court. Both suspects are charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with cheating, extortion, and impersonation.
