New Delhi: Two men were arrested for threatening, assaulting and extorting car owners over pending vehicle EMIs. The accused were involved in separate cases with a similar modus operandi, police said.They used an application to identify vehicles with pending EMI instalments, intercepted the owners on the road, and coerced them into making payments. So far, three FIRs have been registered in connection with such incidents.The accused, Sorav and Sundar Baisla, were both residents of the same village in Baghpat and previously worked as recovery agents.Recovery agents are prohibited from repossessing vehicles using coercive methods. The accused, however, continued to have access to an application that helped identify vehicles with pending EMIs and used that information to target owners.Police received multiple complaints of vehicle owners being intercepted on the road. The accused hit upon this modus operandi to intimidate and threaten owners of cars to extort moneyIn one such case, a delivery executive told police that he was forcibily stopped near Hassanpur Depot in May by men travelling in a white car. They threatened to kill him before extorting Rs 15,000 through a mobile transaction. He was released near a banquet hall.In another case reported last month, a 39-year-old insurance company manager was intercepted on NH-24 by a group posing as recovery agents. The men claimed they had come to recover pending vehicle instalments but threatened him with weapons, took his ATM card and PIN, and extorted Rs 60,000.A similar FIR was registered in March after an insurance company manager travelling near Vikas Marg was intercepted by occupants of a white car. The accused extorted Rs 18,000 through an online transaction. Four people were arrested in that case.So far, six people have been arrested and three separate cases registered. Police have begun background checks on criminals involved in similar offences and are investigating suspects known for similar modus operandi. When contacted, DCP (East) Rajeev Kumar said the investigation was underway.
