Professor’s son held in Rs 6 cr extortion case

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a professor’s son wanted in an extortion case registered at the Nihal Vihar Police Station.

The accused was identified as Mithlesh Kumar Jha resident of Sector-9 Dwarka, Delhi.

According to the police, the case originated from a complaint by Sunil Kumar, who reported that he had been threatened by an individual named Soni Sarkari, allegedly acting on behalf of a notorious gang. The threats were aimed at forcing Kumar to vacate a plot in Nihal Vihar, which he had purchased from Jha. The plot, measuring 1600 square yards, is valued at approximately 6 crore rupees.

The Crime Branch team of the Delhi Police, under the leadership of Inspector Neeraj Kumar Sharma, has been focusing on extortion cases across Delhi.

This particular case was prioritized, with Assistant Sub-Inspector Pradeep Godara, Head Constable Naveen, and Constable Krishan assigned to gather information on the accused. Through a combination of technical surveillance and manual investigation, they received a tip-off regarding Jha’s whereabouts.

Acting on an informer’s tip, authorities arrested Mithlesh Kumar Jha, who revealed that severe financial issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic led him to fraud.

He had twelve cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act in Delhi and Gurgaon. Jha confessed to working with Pradeep and Soni Sarkari, who sold a disputed property to Sunil Kumar and then threatened him for not completing payment. Originally from Bihar, Jha, an MBA graduate and former financial advisor, turned to fraud due to economic hardship.