Mumbai: An alleged extortionist named Mohammad Dilshad Mohammad Naushad has been arrested by the Mumbai Police for demanding Rs 5 crore from Indian cricketer Rinku Singh.
Naushad revealed during interrogation that he was part of a larger extortion racket targeting several billionaires who had purchased electoral bonds. His confession has prompted the police to heighten security and alertness, especially around high-profile individuals linked to political donations.
Officials said that Naushad had previously come under the scanner for issuing similar threats in the West Indies, where he allegedly tried to extort money from a well-known doctor. He was arrested there and later deported to India on August 1, 2025. His interrogation by the Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch has uncovered multiple layers of his extortion network.
His name had earlier surfaced in another case involving former Congress MLA Baba Siddiqui’s family. After Siddiqui’s murder, his son, Zeeshan Siddiqui, reportedly received threatening calls demanding Rs 10 crore in ransom.
Naushad has told the police that he was behind those threats and had also sent intimidating messages to Rinku Singh, claiming to act on behalf of the D-Company.
It has also come to light that Naushad had demanded Rs 20 crore from certain billionaire industrialists, many of whom were identified as major buyers of electoral bonds. Sources said the accused had meticulously listed the names of companies that had purchased the highest number of election bonds in India. One of these companies, based in Ahmedabad, ranks among the top ten electoral bond purchasers in the country. Naushad allegedly obtained these details after the Election Commission published the names and donation amounts of all electoral bond purchasers, following a Supreme Court directive last year. Exploiting this publicly available information, he began targeting the business tycoons for ransom.
At 11.59 pm on April 18 this year, Naushad allegedly sent a threatening email to one such industrialist. In the email, he wrote politely but menacingly, saying he was aware of the businessman’s movements, family details and residence. He warned the recipient against contacting the police and demanded Rs 20 crore in cash, promising to share the time and location for the handover later.
Earlier that same day, at 3:17 pm, he had sent another email to a well-known West Indies doctor named Dr Alim, demanding Rs 50 lakh. In that message, Naushad allegedly claimed he knew exactly how to plant a bomb in the doctor’s car.
Naushad was arrested by the police in the West Indies. After his deportation to India in August, the Mumbai Crime Branch took him into custody and presented the digital evidence – including emails and messages sent to Rinku Singh and Zeeshan Siddiqui – before the court. Investigators said the evidence also indicated that Naushad had been collecting sensitive information on industrialists who bought electoral bonds, using it to intimidate and blackmail them.
Police officials stated that Naushad’s interrogation has so far revealed crucial insights into how he operated across countries, using encrypted emails and anonymous digital accounts to send threats. The Crime Branch is now trying to trace any associates or financers who might have supported his operations. They have also reached out to central agencies for assistance in tracking possible links between his extortion activities and organised networks abroad.
