Updated on: 27TH APRIL 2023 12:18 PM IST | Mumbai
S S NADAR | news@debotimes.in

But the two main accused, who are said to be the masterminds of the racket, are still at large.

The Kashimira police arrested one more person in connection with the fake Directorate of Enforcement (ED) summons case on Tuesday.

The arrest of Raju Shah comes more than a month after the police arrested a New Delhi-based accountant- Krishnakumar Kaushik for his alleged involvement in facilitating the fake ED summons with forged signatures of officials to extract money from a local builder.

However, two people who are said to be the masterminds of the racket are still at large. “Raju Shah who was taken into custody on Tuesday night has been remanded to two days police custody after he was produced before the district sessions court, Thane on Wednesday,” confirmed senior police inspector- Sandip Kadam.

What is the fake ED summons case?

The fake ED summons were allegedly used to scare and extort ?6.55 crore from local builder-Anand Agarwal and his partners in Bhayandar by the trio. All three had been booked on charges of forgery, criminal conspiracy and defamation by the Kashimira police on 10, March.

In his compliant registered, Anand Agarwal of Salasar Builders had stated that he was informed by one of the accused that the ED had registered a case against them under the sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and Income Tax Act, 1961 for a fraudulent deal with a foreign national to purchase an Enemy Property in Kashimira.

The accused also showed them the copy of the ED summons with an assurance of sorting out the issue with the help of their liaison in the ED office in New Delhi.

However, when Agarwal contacted ED officials he learnt that the summons were fake and fabricated. The ED, which had busted an interstate gang of racketeers indulged in preparing and sending fake summons/ notices in November-2022, is closely monitoring the developments in the case, sources said.