Mumbai: Imposters terrorise young couples at Aksa lodge

Kazia Khan (left), Manoj Kumar Ramsayya Singh is in police custody (C), Anita Verma (right)

A man and two women posed as anti-corruption officials and raided a lodge at Aksa beach last week, and demanded money from young couples staying there by threatening to inform their parents. However, the lodge owner grew suspicious and alerted the Malwani police, who thwarted their extortion plan.

The imposters were identified as Manoj Kumar Ramsayya Singh, Anita Verma and Kazia Khan, who are associated with NGO Anti-Corruption Committee of India, police said. As the incident took place in the evening, police could only arrest the man on July 14, and had to let Khan and Verma go. They were instructed to report at the police station the next day, but they absconded.

Police said Singh and Verma are residents of Pune, while Khan lives at Azmi Nagar in Malwani, Malad. According to police sources, during the fake raid at the lodge, the trio started checking the customers' records with the owners. They then forced the couples out of their rooms, asked for their parents' phone numbers and threatened to inform them.

They then demanded Rs 5,000 each from the frightened couples and also from the lodge owner; however, he did not fall into their trap. As soon as the owner alerted them, Assistant Inspector Nilesh Salunkhe and his team, under the supervision of Senior Inspector Shekhar Bhalerao, rushed to the spot and detained the trio. Singh is currently in police custody. Police suspect this was not their first extortion attempt.

Rs 5,000
Amount trio tried to extort