Mumbai, October 10: The crime branch of Mumbai Police has arrested a fake IPS officer who allegedly kidnapped a Surat-based businessman and extorted Rs 15 lakh from him. The accused, Shiv Shankar Sharma (38), was arrested in Bengaluru. Sharma duped the businessman by posing as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He lured the businessman offering to get his stuck cargo released from the Mumbai port. Mumbai: Extortion Gang Makes Morphed Porn Video of Filmmaker's Dad, Demands Rs 25 Crore.

Sharm was arrested following a complaint by Mohammed Ehtesham Aslam Naviwala, a garment trader from Surat. According to reports, Aslam was acquainted with one of Sharma's aide who told him that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had registered a case against him. Sharma's man told Aslam that he knew a police officer who can "settle" the matter. Aslam agreed to come to Mumbai. Mumbai: History-sheeter Held in Rs 10 Lakh Extortion Case.

Aslam, along with Sharma's accomplice, reached Mumbai on September 28. The meeting took place at a room in a posh hotel in the Marine Drive area. Sharma who came there along with two others, posing as his subordinates, offered to resolve the case for a hefty fee. When Aslam refused to pay, an argument broke out. Sharma and his men first held Aslam hostage for several hours at the hotel room and later took him to Gujarat on gunpoint.

They released Aslam on September 29 after he paid Sharma Rs 15 lakh, police said. After his release, Aslam lodged a complaint at the Marine Drive police station. A case was registered and later transferred to the Mumbai Police crime branch’s anti-extortion cell or AEC. Cops tracked him Gujarat but before they could arrest him, he left escaped. However, the police kept following him.

"Sharma somehow got a hint that we were chasing him, so he escaped from Gujarat. After chasing him overnight for over 1,600 kilometres, we managed to nab him from Bengaluru on October 7," a police officer was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. Sharma hails from Ajmer and has a history of committing such crimes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2020 02:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).