Held for extortion

Sashi Kumar of CK Street was arrested at his saloon on Thursday. But the main suspect, Chandrashekhar, who impersonated a Lokayukta official and tried to extort money from beautician Sonia Vohra, escaped.

Police said Chandrashekhar worked for Vohra as a hairstylist in one of her saloons and had quit two years ago. He had availed a loan and defaulted on it, they said. He came to the City a week ago and allegedly threatened Vohra over the phone claiming to be a personal assistant to the Lokayuka. He even told her that her saloons would be raided for “carrying out flesh trade.” He demanded Rs one lakh to settle the matter, police said.  He asked Vohra to pay the amount to his friend Sashi Kumar at his saloon on CK Street at 1 pm on Thursday. Suspecting foul play, Vohra approached Lokayukta SP Madhukar Shetty and registered a case with the Vyalikaval police who raided the saloon and held Sashi Kumar.