Cops arrest fraud journalists in Warangal

Warangal: A gang that was extorting money from affluent person by posing as mediapersons was busted by the police on Monday. The gang comprised six men and two women who had previously worked with 9TV and S-9TV channels, which shut down four months ago.

Out of jobs, these employees drew up a plan to target affluent persons in the city. One of the women would call the target and request him for a job and seek a personal appointment.

They would create a scene as if the man had been caught with a sex worker. The gang member would then pretend to be a victim and give ‘interviews’ to the fake mediapersons. Following this, they would blackmail the person, offering to withhold the telecast if he pays them.

Police said they had extorted Rs 12 lakh from six persons, including a Kakatiya University professor, an FCI employee, an RTC official, a motorcycle showroom owner and also a teacher.

After one of the victims lodged a complaint, the police caught the gang near the Kakatiya University auditorium on Monday. The police seized a car, two motorcycles, an autorickshaw, a video camera, cassettes, CDs, fake channel logos, laptops and mobile phones.

The gang members were identified as K. Devender, M. Srikanth, A. Mahesh, J. Krishna, P. Manohar, A. Ravi, V. Nagalaxmi and G. Kavitha. Of these, Devender and Manohar are absconding.