The Bapatla police on Tuesday arrested five persons who reportedly posed as Maoists and threatened a doctor to pay them ₹20 lakh.
In a statement on Wednesday, Repalle DSP T. Murali Krishna identified the accused as Nilakantam Venkata Ramana, Pittu Siva Reddy, Sk. Sultan Bhasha, P. Rambabu and P. Durga Rao. Another accused, named Raja Ramesh of Anantapur, is absconding.
Police said that the accused persons had contacted E. Ganesh Babu, a doctor from Gullapalli village in Cherukupalli mandal of Bapatla district, and asked him to pay them ₹20 lakh after identifying themselves as Maoists. They threatened to kill him if he did not pay the money.
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim, the police arrested the five accused.
During investigation, police seized 70 bottles of illicit liquor, a vehicle and mobile phones from the accused. The investigation is on.
