One of them claims five people, including two in police uniform, approached them and asked if he had extra tickets and when he offered to give one, he was accused of black marketing
Jehan Dhabhar tweeted to the Mumbai police about the incident
A regular visit to Wankhede Stadium to watch a cricket match turned into a nightmare for 23-year-old Jehan Dhabhar and two of his friends, for they were extorted of Rs 15,000 by five people including two in police uniform, claiming the boys were involved in black marketing.
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The incident took place on Monday evening when he and his friends planned to go for a match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Andheri resident and his friends were standing outside a food outlet near Churchgate station when he claimed they were approached by two people.
Paid for generosity
“The two people sitting in an Omni cab asked us whether we had any extra tickets. I had three complimentary passes and three paid tickets. Some of our friends had not turned up. So I had no hesitation in giving the tickets and asked them to pay for them,” said Jehan. Immediately, he said they were approached by two cops and another person in civil dress.
“They started asking me why I was black marketing tickets. I told them I was not, I had extra tickets and otherwise they would be wasted. But they did not listen to us. They separated me from my friends and one of them pushed me into another cab, and took it to one of the lanes nearby and stopped it in front of a bank ATM” he added.
Each conned separately
Jehan was allegedly asked to pay Rs 5,000 as fine for black marketing tickets and threatened with a thrashing and an FIR. Scared, Jehan, who had Rs 1,000 in cash with him, withdrew Rs 4,000 from the ATM and gave the person in the cab the total of Rs 5,000. He was then shooed away. As Jehan walked towards Churchgate station, he met his friends, who also claimed they had been forced to pay Rs 5,000 each.
Jehan also claimed that just then, one of the people in civil dress who had first approached him arrived and called someone in front of them. “He asked whether a fine was collected from all of us, and when he was probably told that it was, he let us go. We were so scared that we went straightaway to Wankhede Stadium and didn’t speak to anyone,” said Jehan.
When Jehan went home, he narrated the incident to his mother who told his father. “I realised it’s an extortion racket. I immediately asked my son to tweet about it to the Mumbai police, who took cognisance within 5 minutes and got in touch with us. We have been called by Marine Drive police on Wednesday for investigation. We hope they will find these culprits who are running this dirty racket,” said Neville Dhabhar, Jehan’s father. The other two boys have not yet approached the police.
“We have called the victim and his family to get more information about the incident and will start the investigation,” said Vishwanath Kolekar, senior inspector, Marine Drive police station.
5
Minutes taken by the Mumbai police to respond on Twitter
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