BENGALURU: The Thalghattapura police on Sunday busted a gang of extortionists and arrested two habitual offenders who posed themselves as journalists with a vernacular TV channel, blackmailed jewellery shop owners across the city and extorted money.
The arrested have been identified as Rudrajith, 26, a resident of Kanakapura Road, and Somashekar, 23, a resident of Jigani. The police also seized fake identity cards, camera and mike from the arrested. The duo had similar cases against them in KS Layout and Mico Layout police stations.
The duo had purchased a gold chain from Mathajii Jewellers and later they approached the owner Bhukaram, who hails from Rajasthan. They complained about the weight of the gold chain and threatened that they will publish the news that the jeweler was selling poor quality jewellery. They told him that they would not go ahead with their news report if he paid them Rs 50,000.
Bhukaram approached the police and filed a case of blackmail and extortion. The police arrested the two and found that similar cases had been registered against them. A case of extortion was registered at the Thalaghattapura police station.
