The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Bid to extort money from Minister goes futile for `Azad'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Bid to extort money from Minister goes futile for `Azad'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 18. A person claiming himself as Union Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, allegedly attempted to extort money from the Minister for Mines and Geology, Sabita Indira Reddy, in the city on Saturday.

Mohd. Awais Shah (31), a resident of Delhi, was arrested by the Saroornagar police last night on the charges of impersonation and attempting to extort Rs. 2 lakhs from the Minister. The police said Shah called the Minister on her landline phone around 11.30 a.m. "Ms. Sabita Reddy initially took him for Mr. Azad as Shah's tone sounded more or less that of Mr. Azad," the police said. However, the Minister grew suspicious and asked him to call back after one hour.

Shah later went on calling on her mobile phone every one hour till evening. He asked the Minister to send the money to Yashoda Hospital. The Minister's relative, Mahender Reddy, along with three others went to the hospital. Around 7.30 p.m., Shah called her up again to meet him at a Maruti car showroom at Malakpet.

Mr. Mahender Reddy and others rounded up Shah at the car showroom and handed him over to the Saroornagar police. During interrogation, the police learnt that Shah discontinued his graduation and went to Riyadh as a sales executive-cum-driver. He met a Hyderabad-based girl there and their friendship soon blossomed into love. He returned to India in October 2003, came down to the city and married her without informing his parents.

The couple was living in a flat at Deccan Towers in Saleemnagar of Moosarambagh area. Though he was working in a private company, he could not meet the monthly expenses and took loans from his wife's relatives. Unable to repay the money, Shah hatched a plan to extort money from the Minister, the police said. He noted phone numbers of Ministers from Internet.

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