Mumbai: Fake CBI officers targeted many with black cash, say cops

Girish Walecha, Nasir Khan, Mangal Patel, Kishor Chaubal, Jeeva Aher and Nazir, alias Sunil

A gang of six arrested for extorting money by posing as CBI officers might have targeted many more businessmen, said police who recently came across a victim from Goregaon and coaxed him to file a complaint. The police said the fake CBI officers got into the extortion business during the 2016 demonetisation when black money hoarders were desperate to convert their unaccounted cash into white by paying a commission of 30 per cent to 40 per cent. While the gang made crores of rupees, many victims chose not to speak up.

The Goregaon cops, who arrested the alleged extortionists, said the gang quietly collected the details of people who held black money and "raided" them posing as CBI officers. The same set of people faces a similar case registered in Bangalore, said a police source. The six have been identified as Girish Walecha, Mangal Patel, Nazir alias Sunil, Jeeva Aher, Nasir Khan alias Dr Yadav and Kishor Chaubal. The gang members used a different identity every time they target a victim, said the police.

"They would get details from their local contacts and then send a member of their group who would convince the potential victim to get the black money converted into white. The moment they get the location of the money or the person decides on the location to deliver the black money, the group would strike posing as CBI officers and take all the money by threatening to frame him in a case as the money is illegal," said an officer.

The cops have found that the fake CBI officers extorted about Rs 2 crore from two Mumbra businessmen during demonetisation and the matter was never reported to the police. "We are searching for the victims as per the details provided by the accused. We also suspect that there are many such victims that the accused is not revealing. We are scanning their mobile phones to get more details, and we have already found one similar offence registered against these people in Bangalore."

Also Read: Mumbai: Fake CBI officers who swooped in on bizman and escaped with Rs 50L, held

Chance discovery

The efforts to search for the victims have led the Goregaon police to a local businessman who became the victim of the gang in July. The businessman, who is into the advertising and hoardings business, was approached by one person, Ramkrishn Lal, whom he had met in January. Lal had also introduced him to another person named Jignesh Modi, and the duo offered him a return of Rs 1.8 crore if he invested Rs 1 crore through their firm.

The businessman agreed to invest Rs 50 lakh and he was to hand over the cash on July 1. "He had the cash in his office for the deal. On July 1, a group of 5 to 6 people came in a black Scorpio posing as CBI officers and threatened him with a pistol. One of them also had a police lathi. They took the businessman in the vehicle and took away his money and later abandoned him at Nerul," said the officer.

The Goregaon police arrested the six on October 1 on the complaint of a businessman who said he was promised a loan of R1.8 crore for which the accused wanted a commission of Rs 5 lakh. However, the businessman realised that the six were fake CBI officers and alerted his employees, who caught two of the gang members. While the remaining four fled, they were later arrested by the police.

Many more victims?

A victim
‘I was threatened to remain silent or there would be consequences. They showed me a pistol and I was scared for my life, which is why I didn't complain. As the police approached me recently, I identified these people and got the case registered against them'

A police officer
‘We also suspect that there are many such victims that the accused is not revealing. We are scanning their mobile phones to get more details, and we have already found one similar offence registered against these people in Bangalore'