Seven TV, web channel staffers arrested for extortion in Uppal

Hyderabad: Seven persons, including a woman, who are working for different web channels and a regional TV news channel were arrested by the Rachakonda police for allegedly extorting money from businesses in Uppal.

The suspects are online editor N. Swamy, editor M. Saikumar, HR executives P. Narsimha Murthy and K. Deepthi, sub editor P. Jayaram, stringers D. Prabhakar and Inna Reddy, cameramen K. Kumar Sai Vishwanadh and Praveen and Anand and Praveen. They are working in local TV news and web channels. Police also seized Rs 1.4 lakh, mobile phones  and other material from them.

Uppal police said that on November 4, the suspects went to Kerala Ayush Ayurveda Center in Prashanth Nagar, and after identifying themselves as stringers of a local TV news channel, threatened them saying that cross massaging was going on at the centre, and extorted Rs 1 lakh from the owner.

Around three months ago in Vanasthalipuram the gang went to Shree Mythri Agro Technologies and threatened them in the name of a sting operation and extorted Rs 80,000 from them. In LB Nagar they threatened a coffee shop owner and extorted Rs 70,000. “We found that the gang had extorted money from others too. Inna Reddy, Anand and Praveen said they were not present when the gang extorted money, but we are checking their role in the racket,” inspector Y. Narsimha Reddy said. The arrested persons were remanded to custody.