Kolkata, Aug 1 A Jharkhand-based advocate was arrested from a shopping mall in Kolkata with Rs 50 lakhs in cash.
The accused has been identified as Rajiv Kumar.
A statement issued by the city police claimed that Kumar filed a PIL against a Kolkata-based businessman at the Ranchi High Court.
The advocate approached the businessman concerned and made an offer to withdraw the PIL provided the businessman pays him a ransom of Rs 10 crore.
Kumar also threatened the businessman to get his residence and office raided by the central agency sleuths if he does not pay the ransom amount.
However, after a lot of bargaining, the ransom amount was settled at Rs 1 crore,
Meanwhile, the businessman contacted the police and accordingly, he asked Kumar to come to Kolkata and receive Rs 50 lakhs as an advance payment.
"It was agreed between Rajiv Kumar and the businessman concerned after receiving Rs 50 lakhs as advance, Kumar will withdraw the PIL at Ranchi High Court, following which he will be paid the remaining amount of Rs 50 lakhs. However, we laid a trap and Rajiv Kumar was caught red-handed," said a city police official.
It is learnt that Kumar had been the mastermind behind as many as 800 PILs.
"It seems that filing PILs was part of his bigger ploy to trap and blackmail the rich and get a heavy ransom amount from them. We are interrogating him," the official added.
On Saturday evening, three MLAs from Jharkhand namely Irfan Ansari from Jamtara, Rajesh Kacchap from Khijri and Naman Bixal Kongari from Kolebira, were nabbedwith cash amount of little over RS 48 lakhs from Panchla in Kolkata.
On Sunday, a lower court in Howrah district remanded them to 10 days of police custody.
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