The Madhapur police booked a person for posing as a journalist, along with his associates, for extorting money from a businessman.
Officials said that the accused were holding a signed cheque issued as surety against a ‘loan’ of ₹10 lakh as a leverage to threaten him.
The case followed a complaint by victim Naresh Chowdary Dirishala, managing director of DNC Infrastructure Private Limited, in Madhapur.
Naresh borrowed ₹10 lakh from Gopi Payala, a businessman, in January 2024, to expand his business. In exchange for the loan, Gopi took a signed blank cheque towards security.
According to the FIR, Gopi did not return the signed cheque to Naresh even after two months of repaying the entire loan amount on February 7, and instead was threatening to harm him.
Shankara Chary, posing as a YouTube journalist in V 99 channel, demanded ₹1 crore by threatening him with fabricated videos of him being involved in illegal dealings related to elections.
Some miscreants were also sent to Dirishala’s office on April 29, who created ruckus, and threatened to kill all the employees if he failed to make the payment within 24 hours.
The police filed a case and efforts are underway to trace and nab the suspects, police said.
