A 20-year-old Company Secretary aspirant, inspired by crime-based films, web series, and social media reels, allegedly orchestrated a Rs 15 lakh extortion plot targeting a Mandsaur businessman. The accused, Rehan Khan, a BA second-year student from Khilchipura, was arrested by Kotwali police before he could execute the plan, according to Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Vinod Meena.
The case came to light on May 19 when businessman Tayyab Ali Bohra approached police during a public hearing. Bohra alleged that an unidentified caller first demanded Rs 5 lakh and later increased the demand to Rs 15 lakh, threatening to shoot him dead if the money was not paid.
Police instructed the complainant to maintain contact with the caller to gather technical evidence. During subsequent calls, the accused repeated the threats and pressured the businessman to arrange the money immediately. Through call tracing, police identified Rehan and arrested him on Saturday.
Investigations revealed that Rehan had worked at the complainant's under-construction house around four years ago during an air conditioning fitting assignment. Since then, he had been planning to extort money from the businessman. Police discovered that he purchased a separate keypad phone seven months ago solely for the crime and never used it for any other purpose.
During questioning, Rehan admitted to stealing SIM cards from passengers during train journeys between Ujjain and Indore to avoid detection. In one instance, he removed only the SIM card from a phone left charging, believing the victim would be less likely to file a complaint if the handset remained untouched. He also procured another SIM card using a labourer's documents after promising him a job.
Investigators stated that the accused acted alone and frequently switched off his phone after making calls to prevent location tracking. He also changed locations repeatedly while contacting the victim. Police seized an Rs 80,000 motorcycle, a smartphone, a keypad mobile phone, and several SIM cards used in the crime.
