Man arrested on charges of extortion in Salem

The Salem Rural Police on Sunday arrested a 33-year-old man who reportedly threatened a doctor and extorted money.

According to the police, P. Govindaraj runs a hospital at Attur. K. Rajendran (33) of Pudhupalayam approached Dr. Govindaraj saying that he was going to file a case against the hospital for violation of building rules. The accused reportedly demanded ₹50 lakh from Dr.Govindaraj.

On February 20, he sent a person named Naveen to the hospital, and demanded ₹ 50,000 as advance amount. After negotiation, the doctor paid ₹ 10,000 to Naveen.

Later on April 1, Rajendran met Dr. Govindaraj in Attur and had said that a case had been filed in the Madras High Court and demanded ₹ 1 crore to withdraw it.

On July 27, Dr. Govindaraj lodged a complaint with the District Superintendent of Police (SP) M. Sree Abhinav, who forwarded the complaint to the District Crime Branch. The police inquired and registered a case against Rajendran under Sections 120 (B), 385, and 506 (ii) of the IPC.

Rajendran was arrested and remanded in prison on Sunday. The police are on the lookout for Naveen.