Date:18/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/18/stories/2005021806280500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Three held on extortion charge

By Our Special Correspondent

ONGOLE, FEB. 17. The police here today arrested three persons for allegedly threatening some traders in the name of Maoists and extorting Rs. 1.23 lakhs from them in the last three months in Prakasam district. Police recovered a toy pistol, and Maoist literature from them besides three television sets allegedly stolen from schools.

The Superintendent of Police, Mahesh Chandra Laddha, told reporters that Mahanandi alias Anand of Cumbum, Neelam Sunki Reddy of Gutty in Anantapur district, and N. Suresh of Valetivaripalem in Prakasam district, formed into a team to commit the offences. They extorted money from nearly 20 traders in Ongole, Darsi, Kanigiri, Giddalur, Donakonda and Cumbum and collected Rs. 88,500 from them. They kept a list of their victims and amount collected from each one of them.

Modus operandi

Mahanandi said that they identified traders from telephone directory for extortion. He used to call them over telephone and identify himself as Sagar, secretary of Nallamala division of CPI (Maoist) and seek party funds. Mahanandi used to collect amounts varying from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 10,000 from the traders by deputing his associates -- Suresh or Sunki Reddy.

He appealed to traders not to respond to such threats and inform the police whenever they received such telephone calls. He sought the cooperation of traders to put an end to such menace.