Man arrested for posing as representative of UP cabinet minister, extorting money

A man has been arrested here for posing as a representative of UP cabinet minister Ramapati Shastri and extorting money from people, police said on Sunday. According to the police, the accused, identified as Ashok Kumar Baudh, posed as a representative of Shastri, the minister for social welfare, scheduled castes and tribal welfare in Uttar Pradesh.

Baudh was extorting money from people and was arrested on Saturday night, they said, adding that two luxury cars were seized from him. Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma said a case of cheating was registered against Baudh and the matter was being investigated.

"The number plate of one of the cars is actually of a motorcycle," the SP said.