Faridabad: A couple who allegedly ran an extortion racket by posing as social workers and journalists have been arrested. Police said the accused — 50-year-old Rohtash, a resident of Sanjay Colony, and his wife —collected money from a liquor vend operator “for around eight to nine months”.The couple used video recordings and threats of false cases to pressure the liquor vend operator into paying money. The complainant alleged the woman threatened to implicate him in a false molestation case and get a police complaint registered against him.The accused were arrested from the Mujesar police station area on Saturday. They were later produced before a court and sent to jail. The matter came to light after the vend operator from Sector 10 approached Mujesar police station with a complaint. He alleged that the couple used to demand Rs 10,000 every month from him in exchange for allowing him to run the liquor vend. They also allegedly collected Rs 100 daily from cart and kiosk operators around the vend.A police officer said, “The couple claimed to be social workers and journalists and would create pressure on the operator by recording videos of people consuming liquor and other activities near the vend. They threatened to forward these videos to administrative officials if their demands were not met.”“During the investigation, we recovered a mobile phone from the couple, which will be examined by forensic experts to collect digital evidence,” the officer said, adding, “A case was registered at Mujesar police station under relevant sections.”
