Home guard volunteer, accomplice pose as Police & extort pharmacy owner in Ayanavaram, held

CHENNAI: City Police on Friday arrested two persons including a Home guard volunteer for posing as a policeman and kidnapping a pharmacy owner and extorting money from him in Ayanavaram.

The arrested persons were identified as B Dinakaran (24) of Kolathur and Mohammad Imran (27) of Villivakkam.

Dinakaran is a home guard volunteer attached to Rajamangalam Police station, police said.

On May 28, the pharmacy owner S Prabhakaran (50) of Ayanavaram was in his shop when one Imran went to the shop in the guise of buying medicines.

Dinakaran who came after sometime claimed to be a policeman and started enquiring the pharmacy owner if he was selling prescription drugs to Imran and told him that he needs to be investigated and took Prabhakaran in his bike.

The pharmacy owner was taken to Kolathur where they threatened him with criminal action and demanded money to drop the case against him.

Prabhakaran arranged for Rs 67,000 and paid the duo and later filed a complaint with Ayanavaram Police station.

After investigations, Police arrested Dinakaran and Imran and recovered Rs 64,500 cash from them.

Both the arrested persons were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.