3 fresh extortion cases filed against Nagaraj

 The police custody of former corporator and history-sheeter V Nagaraj may be extended as three fresh cases were registered against him on Saturday.

Three industrialists - Muniraju, Kalyan and Chandrakumar - lodged separate complaints with the Kengeri police, alleging Nagaraj had extorted Rs 8 crore from them. They said Nagaraj, his sons Gandhi and Shastri and their associate Saravana threatened them with a pistol, assaulted them and extorted money, said DCP (West) M N Anucheth.

Chandrakumar, a resident of Nagawara, had contacted Nagaraj and sought his help in exchanging demonetised notes. He met them near Kengeri railway station on December 10, 2016, with demonetised notes worth Rs 1.75 crore. The suspects threatened him by showing a pistol, snatched the money and escaped.

A few days later, they contacted Muniraju, a resident of Ullal, and asked him to meet them near Kengeri railway station for the exchange of demonetised notes worth Rs 2.5 crore. They threatened and assaulted him when he went there with the notes and took away the currency. They robbed Kalyan, a resident of Vijayanagar, of Rs 3.8 crore in a similar fashion.

Custody may be extended

Nagaraj’s police custody ends on Monday. The Kengeri police have decided to request the court for extension of his custody to question him about the three cases.

Wife detained

The Malleswaram police detained Nagaraj’s wife Lakshmi on Sunday. She had been to Dharmasthala to offer prayers, after the police raided Nagaraj’s residence. Later, she had been to Tirupati. The police intercepted a car in Rajajinagar, in which she was travelling on Sunday evening and detained her. She was handed over to the custody of the Hennur police, who are questioning her about her role in the money-laundering case.