CBI arrests former Air force captain for impersonation

The CBI has arrested  a retired captain of the Indian Air force who impersonated as a CBI officer and two others for allegedly trying to extract money from their business partner, officials said.

Prasanna Mehta, a businessman, his employee Sashank
Dinkar and Suryakanth Helkar, a retired Air force captain were
arrested for demanding Rs 15 lakh from the complainant.

According to CBI sources, the trio had entered into a deal with the complainant under which the later was supposed to arrange for an investor who would invest Rs 15 lakh to fund their venture.

"However, when the complainant refused to arrange for money, Helkar called him up and posed as CBI officer Ram Singh and told him to either pay Rs 15 lakh or come to the CBI office," CBI counsel Ejaz Khan said.

After 'negotiations', the three accused later settled for Rs 10 lakh and on June 2, the complainant handed over the money to Dinkar, who transferred it to Hyderabad through Hawala, Khan said.

The trio were arrested on Thursday and have been booked for conspiracy and corruption. They were today remanded to CBI custody till June 16.