Four arrested, dummy weapon recovered in extortion case in J-K's Budgam

Srinagar: Four people were arrested while a dummy weapon was recovered in connection with an extortion case in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Saturday.

Police received a complaint on August 23 this year from Tawseef Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Rawatpora Khag, alleging that he and his neighbour Saqib Ahmed Dar were stopped by some masked persons on their way home in the evening a day earlier. They were shown a weapon and thrashed, while Bhat was robbed of a cash amount of Rs 1,50,000, a police spokesperson said.

A case was registered and an investigation into the matter was taken up after receiving the complaint, he said.

During the course of the investigation, a suspect, identified as Feroz Ahmad Wani, a resident of Pethzanigam, was called for questioning. He confessed his involvement in the commission of the crime, the spokesperson said.

On Wani’s disclosure, his two associates Asif Ahmad Ahanger, a resident of Bonzanigam, and Bilal Ahmad Malik from Pethzanigam, were arrested, he said.

Police recovered a dummy AK-47 weapon, Rs 33,300 cash, and three face covers on their disclosure from a shed constructed at Ahanger’s orchard, the spokesperson said.

During the investigation, it also came to the fore that the dummy weapon was made by carpenter Abdul Momin Shah, a resident of Pethzanigam, who was also arrested, he said.

An investigation into the case is underway and more arrests and recoveries are expected to take place, the spokesperson added.