Four arrested for impersonating Pakistani terrorists to extort money in Assam

Silchar: Four locals from Assam’s Cachar district were arrested for allegedly impersonating Pakistani terrorists to extort money from a construction agency, police said.

Police identified the accused as Boktar Hussain, Samsir Uddin Barbhuiya, Md Alekuddin (25) and Ajiruddin alias Amiruddin. “Boktar and Samsir, the prime accused, are residents of Cachar’s Katigorah and the other two are from of Kachudaram. Boktar and Samsir were arrested from Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district with the help of Meghalaya Police. The other two were arrested from the Gumrah area of Cachar district,” said the superintendent of police (SP), Cachar, Numal Mahatta.

Mahatta said the police received a complaint on February 21 from Jhandu Infratech Ltd, a highway construction company in Cachar district. “The complainants said that an unknown person, identifying himself as a member of the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), called them and demanded a ransom of ₹10 crore, threatening dire consequences if the money was not paid within the specified time frame,” he said.

The police registered a case in Katigorah Police Station under section 308(2) (extortion) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

“Investigation revealed adequate information about the involvement of four individuals in this matter and arrested them from different areas of Cachar and Meghalaya,” Mahatta added.

Boktar and Samsir were produced before the court and sent to police custody, while the other two will be presented before the court on Thursday, police said.