Ahmedabad: A man allegedly posing as a police officer extorted Rs 10,000 from a 24-year-old spice trader and his female friend at the riverfront after threatening to circulate their photographs and videos on social media. The incident occurred on Oct 19, and the trader, who runs his business from Madhupura, filed a complaint with Sabarmati Riverfront (West) police on Nov 2.
Around 5am on Oct 19, after returning from a garba event, the trader and his friend were sitting in a car parked in the ground near Vallabh Sadan when a man approached them, claiming to be a police officer. He demanded Rs 10,000 to not send the images to their families or circulate them on social media. The trader told police that he handed the man Rs 5,000 in cash. The next evening, the accused allegedly called the woman and demanded another Rs 10,000.
He allegedly told them that he had taken their photographs and videos on his phone and would file a complaint against them. The complainant said he later learnt through news reports that the accused had been identified in another extortion case registered by Riverfront West police. For the remaining amount, he was taken to a petrol pump in Paldi and made to scan its QR code. An employee of the pump then handed the trader the amount in cash, which was then given to the accused. The accused also took the woman’s phone number and threatened to kill them if they disclosed the incident.