Moving firm accused of blackmail

The police have stumbled upon a racket run by a Bengaluru-based moving company that would extort money from customers by delaying their consignments or not delivering them at all.

The RMC Yard police arrested Amit Sharma, the 24-year-old owner of Nikhil International Movers and Packers, Yeshwantpur, following a complaint from a doctor. A detailed investigation led them to other, unreported cases.

The police believe the company cheated many more customers and have asked members of the public to file complaints. Sharma hails from Jind, Haryana.

Dr Kumar Brijesh was relieved when he paid Rs 47,000 to the company for relocating his household articles from Bengaluru to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The company’s staff packed the items in 11 boxes on May 9. The items were to be delivered to Kanpur on May 22. However, only 11 boxes were delivered to Brijesh’s home in Kanpur. When he enquired about the other three boxes, the customer care said they were stuck in Pune and would be delivered soon.

But later, the company demanded more money to deliver them.

Brijesh approached the RMC Yard police and filed a complaint of cheating. A senior police officer said the company had cheated many customers in a similar way.