Mumbai, 6 April. The Anti-Extortion Cell of Mumbai Police has arrested two people for demanding ransom of Rs 4 lakh using a fake letter bearing the signature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The accused were produced in the Esplanade Court, from where they were sent to three-day police custody. The arrested accused have been identified as Tausif Hussain Ismail Patel (44), associated with Target Media, and Siddhinath Dinanath Pandey alias Sunil (43). Both the accused are residents of Shastri Nagar, Goregaon (West). According to the complaint, the victim runs an NGO named “Mega Shreya”, which has been doing social work for underprivileged children, old age homes and orphanages since 2020.

The complainant met Tausif Patel and his associate Farnaz Wadia during a social event in 2022. Both of them identified themselves as journalists and remained in touch through WhatsApp, sharing information about the social work of the complainant. On March 18, Patel allegedly sent a voice note on WhatsApp, offering to send a birthday greeting letter from the Prime Minister’s Office in exchange for money. The complainant initially rejected this claim as fake. However, the accused claimed that the letter was genuine and demanded a public relations fee of Rs 4 lakh.

Subsequently, on March 28, Farnaz Wadia sent a digital copy of a letter signed by the Prime Minister, addressed to the complainant and praising his social work. The complainant initially shared the letter on social media, but removed it after colleagues raised doubts about its authenticity. The accused allegedly intensified his demands and created a fake email ID in the name of the complainant to give credibility to the fake message.

The complainant called the accused to a cafe in Worli. Here the accused claimed to have contacts in the Prime Minister’s Office and reiterated their demand for Rs 4 lakh in exchange for a “genuine” letter. After continuous pressure and threats, the complainant contacted the police. Acting on the complaint, the Anti-Extortion Cell laid a trap in a hotel located at Worli Sea Face, where the accused were caught red-handed while taking money from the complainant. Police recovered a fake birthday greeting letter purportedly signed by the Prime Minister, bundles of toy notes, two genuine Rs 500 notes and two mobile phones used in the crime from the accused.

After this, a case has been registered against the accused under several sections of BNS and IT Act. The FIR in this case was registered at Worli police station and later transferred to the anti-extortion cell for investigation. Based on the complaint, the police conducted a technical investigation and laid a trap in Worli area, where the accused were caught red-handed while accepting the extortion money. Police suspect involvement of other accused. Along with this, the investigation is being done on other points including the source of forged signatures and letterheads of the Prime Minister, the digital devices used in making fake documents and similar frauds in the past too.