3 held for extortion

Hyderabad, Jan 19 (UNI) Police today arrested three persons, including a Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) member of the Congress, for indulging in extortion activities in the city.

Police said the arrested were MPTC Member R Sriramulu, R Ramamurthy and P Venkateswarlu.

The trio, posing as naxals, used to send letters to businessmen and political leaders, demanding money.

They used to send threatening letters in the name of CPI (ML) Prajapratighatana Telangana Committee Secretary Sham.

They already extorted money to the tune of Rs 20 lakh from various businessmen since 1997, police added.

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