One of the most unfortunate incidents is when criminals think they are inventive and try to make a quick buck – but fall flat on their face. That’s precisely what happened in this Mumbai crime.
The Khargar Police arrested an extortionist and his accomplice after the extortionist contacted a hotel owner in Navi Mumbai and threatened him with police action alleging that an illegal hookah bar was operating on the hotel premises. The individual had already posted a message about it on X and tagged the relevant police officials. According to this report, the extortionist filed various complaints against the hotel with the Police Control Room.
It all came to an end, though, when the hotel owner approached the cops, and they laid a trap for the extortionist, due to which he and his associate were held. This is a unique modus operandi, and it seems that the extortionist tried various ways to extract money. He probably thought the hotel owner would be cowed down by the X posts, but he had to go further and actually lodge complaints at the police control room.
Police investigations revealed that Beg actively used his Twitter handle to report hotels, bars, and unauthorized constructions, tagging relevant authorities to apply pressure. Further examination of his actions found that he had lodged complaints against 60 to 70 individuals with the municipal corporation, police, and other government departments. How many of these business owners fell for this trap will be known only after further investigation.
Since 2023, Hookah bars have been illegal in Mumbai. Hotels and restaurants cannot run hookah bars or serve them in their service areas. Restaurant owners have been looking for some respite, but the fact remains that hookah bars were a fad around a decade ago, and several inhalers were diagnosed with throat cancer. In 2018, according to The Hindustan Times, there were about 400 hookah bars in Mumbai. Back then, a typical hookah bar could make a monthly turnover of ₹50 Lakh, with a hookah costing ₹500 – ₹1000.
Covers the crime beat, spreading awareness about crimes, scams and everything dastardly.
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