Bhubaneswar: Doraguda police have arrested four persons, including a couple, in Odisha’s Rayagada district for allegedly trying to extort Rs 60 lakh by posing as Maoists.
The accused have been identified as Yasobant Naik and his wife Barsa Naik from Kalampur in Kalahandi, Ramesh Naik from Maligaon in Kashipur, and Kalyani Pagynabhaya from Jharsuguda.
Informing about the arrests, Rayagada SP Vivekananda Sharma said the four accused had sent a letter to Paramananda Nayak of Dimundi village in Kashipur, demanding Rs 60 lakh under the guise of being Maoists. They also made threatening calls to Paramananda from various phone numbers, warning him of severe consequences if he reported the matter to the police.
However, Paramananda filed a complaint with the police on December 6, leading to the registration of a case. Subsequent investigations revealed the letter to be fake. The police successfully traced the phone numbers and apprehended Yasobant and Barsa from Kalampur.
During the interrogation, the couple provided information leading to the arrest of Ramesh and Kalyani.
Police seized four mobile phones from the accused during the operation.
