Fake GST Officials Nabbed in Extortion Racket Near Uttarakhand Border

Two gang members were arrested for posing as GST officials and extorting money from truck drivers near the Uttarakhand border. Three accomplices fled during the police operation. Police recovered weapons, phones, and cash from detainees Jagdeep Singh and Sanjay Das, who used fake GST bills to threaten drivers.

Two members of a gang masquerading as GST officials have been apprehended for extortion near the Uttarakhand border. They targeted truck drivers in the area, police said on Saturday.

According to officials, three other suspects managed to evade capture when law enforcement officers intervened on Thursday. They fled towards Uttarakhand as the police moved in.

Dharmendra Singh, the Station House Officer at Sheeshgarh police station, detailed the operation, stating that the police control room was tipped off about a suspicious car on Tanda Changa-Bahedi road. While two of the individuals in the car were arrested, three suspects standing outside managed to escape.

The police identified the arrested individuals as Jagdeep Singh and Sanjay Das. Among the recovered items from the duo were a country-made pistol, a revolver, a laptop, two phones, and cash totaling 2,000, allegedly extracted from the drivers.

A case has been filed against the five members under the Arms Act. During interrogation, Singh and Das admitted to extorting truck drivers by displaying fake GST bills related to the goods they were transporting. Drivers were coerced into paying under the threat of being shown a firearm.

(With inputs from agencies.)