Indore: 4 Fake Journalists Booked For Attempted Extortion

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A case was registered against four fake journalists who tried to extort money from a factory owner by threatening to defame his factory through their writings.

While two of the accused were arrested, two are on the run. Mohit Gupta, who runs ‘masala’ factory (grinding chilli, turmeric and coriander) in Ahirkhedi area complained at Dwarkapuri police station that at around 12.30 pm on September 9, accused Suresh Sharma, Pramod Tribhan, Dinesh Chauhan and Hemant Rathore came to his factory with ID cards of Aaj Tak, Malav Elan, Wave India and News 18.

They introduced themselves as journalists and employees of the food department. They demanded Rs 50,000 and threatened that if he did not pay up, they would write against his factory in their news outlets and also spread it on social media.

Dwarkapuri police station in-charge Brajesh Malviya said they had arrested Suresh Sharma and Pramod Tribhan and seized the car used in the incident.

They have also seized their press ID cards. Accused Dinesh Chauhan and Hemant Rathore fled from the spot, and their search is on to nab them. Police said Hemant and Dinesh had a case of illegal extortion registered against them in Meghnagar, Jhabua district.