The Special Operations Group (SOG) in Surat has cracked down on an extortion racket, arresting two individuals accused of threatening and extorting money from owners of fair price shops (FPS). The accused allegedly used the threat of social media defamation and false accusations of black marketing to extract a total of Rs 1.80 lakh from their victims.
The Modus Operandi: Threats and Social Media Blackmail
According to police, the arrested accused have been identified as Shravan Joshi and Sampat Chaudhary. Their method involved visiting fair price shops, introducing themselves as political workers, and levelling false allegations of black marketing against the owners. They would then record videos of the shops and threaten to upload the footage on social media platforms to damage the reputation of the business owners.
In the first case registered at Limbayat police station, the duo targeted Pandit Deendayal Grahak Bhandar, an FPS run by Sindhu More in Ramnagar Society, on October 10. Joshi allegedly posed as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker and accused the owner of black marketing. After initially posting a video online, Chaudhary later visited the shop and demanded a monthly protection money of Rs 50,000 to stop the harassment.
The complainant, Nilesh More, stated that the accused continued to instigate locals against his family. Following mediation by a common acquaintance, the accused agreed to stop for a one-time payment of Rs one lakh. This payment was made to Chaudhary near Adarsh School on December 16, a transaction the complainant's friend secretly recorded.
A Pattern of Crime Across Multiple Localities
A second offence was registered at the Godadara police station, where complainant Kamlesh Katik alleged that the same duo extorted Rs 80,000 from him. Using an identical strategy, they recorded videos of his FPS in Prakashnagar and threatened to upload them unless he paid up. To avoid further harassment, Katik handed over the money to Chaudhary on October 5.
SOG police inspector A S Sonara revealed that Joshi and Chaudhary were running a systematic extortion racket targeting fair price shops in areas including Limbayat, Godadara, Dindoli, and nearby localities. "Based on complaints and corroborative evidence provided by the victims, we verified the facts and arrested both accused," Inspector Sonara stated.
Legal Action and Ongoing Investigation
Separate First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against the accused at both the Limbayat and Godadara police stations. The arrests were made after a thorough verification of the victims' complaints and the evidence they submitted, which included the secret recording of the money handover. The police are investigating whether the accused have targeted other shop owners in the region using similar intimidation tactics.
This case highlights the misuse of social media as a tool for blackmail and the vulnerability of small business owners to such coercive schemes. The swift action by the SOG aims to send a strong message against such organized extortion activities in the city.
