two arrested for posing as ED officer, attempting to extort ₹20 crore from Delhi businessman after 4-month investigation

Two men have been arrested in connection with the attempted extortion case of ₹20 crore where seven men allegedly posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, barged into a businessman’s house in DLF Farms, Chhatarpur and threatened to arrest him The alleged incident happened on October 21 last year, when the accused reached the 56-year-old businessman’s house at 11.15pm, as per the FIR, also seen by HT. Dressed in formal attire and masks, they arrived in two cars and started doing searches in the house. They also allegedly confiscated all phones of the family members and confined them to a room.
Threatening to arrest him and keep his three children in the an orphanage under the State’s custody, they asked him for money. “I was very disturbed and told them that this kind of money can only be taken out from the bank,” the FIR read.
Police said the seven accused then stayed the night at the businessman’s place and the next morning, while they were going to the bank in Hauz Khas, he got his phone back and sent a message to his manager and the lawyer about the incident. The lawyer immediately reached the bank and informed the victim that he was being cheated. The accused, who realised that the lawyer and other staffers had shown up, left the bank and fled, police explained Police said the victim is a businessman who runs an export business and owns guesthouses in Delhi-NCR.
Sanjay Sain, additional commissioner of police (crime) said the team has arrested the main accused Iqbal Qureshi, and his associate on Wednesday. Sain said Qureshi is a member of Prince Tewatia gang. While Tewatia was killed inside Tihar jail in April 2023, his gang is active in south Delhi and involved in car loots, murders, extortion and robberies.
“In one CCTV footage, one of the men was identified as Qureshi who worked at the complainant’s house previously,” an investigating officer said, adding that Qureshi had fled from the city.
After receiving a tip-off on Wednesday, Qureshi and his associate Arun Lal were nabbed from Malviya Nagar Qureshi is the mastermind. They chose the victim’s house because Qureshi had known him. He is involved in over 30 cases. Meanwhile, Lal is involved in a double murder case in Kalkaji where he killed his mother-in-law and wife over a ₹6 lakh debt in 2002,” Sain said