MP: Man poses as cop, makes extortion call to BJP MLA

Indore (MP), Jan 14 (PTI) A 35-year-old man from Rajasthan was arrested by Indore Police on Tuesday for allegedly posing as a police officer and trying to extort Rs 10 lakh from local BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya.

Suresh Ghanchi, the accused, is suspected to be involved in similar crimes in other states too, the police said.

Superintendent of Police Suraj Verma said that Ghanchi called Vijawargiya and introduced himself as city Superintendent of Police (East) Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi.

He allegedly asked the MLA to transfer Rs 10 lakh to a a certain account.

On the Truecaller app, the number showed as registered under the name "SP Indore".

After Vijayvargiya filed a complaint with the police, the number was traced to Ghanchi and he was arrested from the city.

Investigation revealed that Ghanchi, a class 8 pass- out, had cheated several people in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other states, sometimes posing as a top police or government officer or a judge or a public representative, Verma said.

He was also found to be good at mimicking voices, the police officer said, adding that further probe was on.