Berhampur: Town Police have apprehended two young men, including the son of a former corporator, on charges of attempting to extort Rs 70,000 from a trader in the city’s Bada Bazaar area.
The suspects, identified as Subham Majhi (22), and Alok Malik (26), were taken into custody on Sunday following a complaint lodged by 45-year-old Rabi Sethi. Several incriminating items from the duo, including a pistol, a sword, multiple mobile phones, a scooter used in the crime, as well a
s a bottle of mephentermine sulphate injection and two syringes were recovered from them.
Subham, a resident of Rautapeta, is the son of a former corporator, while his associate Alok belongs to Butulu village under Purusottampur police limits.
According to a complaint filed by Sethi, the accused had been persistently harassing him over the past two weeks, intercepting him at different locations and pressing for the extortion amount. The situation escalated on Saturday when the duo allegedly confronted the trader again near Premnagar, hurling caste-based abuses at him and brandishing the pistol and sword to intimidate him.
Following which, Sethi approached Berhampur Town police station to register the complaint. The accused were nabbed from a gym Bijipur area after multiple raids, police sources said.
Further investigation to ascertain their criminal antecedents.