Two members of a gang-of-four that allegedly posed as television journalists and tried to blackmail the owner of a garment store in southern Bengaluru have been arrested.
Mahadeva (31) and Ashok Kumar (33) were part of the gang that visited the store located near Tata Silk Farm in Jayanagar on September 21, 2018, and posed as reporters of a non-existent television channel named Praja Pratinidhi. They interviewed the staff and shot videos of the products on display, saying they want to feature the store in a news story. The next day, the gang called up the owner, saying he was selling fake products and demanded Rs 50,000 to hush up the matter.
The owner went to the jurisdictional Banashankari police which tracked down two of the suspects. The elusive suspects have been identified as Rakesh and Naveen, a senior police officer said. Police have seized two cars from the arrested suspects. The logo of the non-existent channel was printed on one of the cars, police said.
Published 25 September 2018, 17:24 IST