Raipur/ Kawardha: Kabirdham police in Chhattisgarh have uncovered a gang involved in blackmailing doctors and health workers by threatening them with suspension in the name of Health Secretary IAS Amit Kataria.
The group included individuals who posed as journalists and a man who falsely claimed to be a personal secretary to a minister.
One of the key members, Aman Bisaria, used a voice changer app to impersonate a woman while calling doctors, making the threats more convincing. Riyaz Attari, the director of an online news portal, along with Feroz Khan and Ajay Jangde, who also operated news portals, allegedly published false reports and pressured doctors into paying them money to avoid negative publicity.
Two victims have come forward with complaints. Madan Singh Purle, a rural medical assistant at Bhimbhori Primary Health Centre, reported that the gang extorted ₹10,000 from him by threatening to have him suspended.
Another victim, Prabhat Gupta, an eye assistant officer at Pondi Primary Health Centre, said he was mentally harassed and forced to pay ₹32,000 to stop the gang from filing fake complaints against him.
Following these complaints, the police took action and arrested the four accused. They found that none of them had official journalist credentials from the Public Relations Department. Authorities have urged citizens to report any similar incidents of fraud, harassment, or extortion without hesitation.
