Delhi Police has arrested a 42-year-old man who posed as an MCD official to extort money from an elderly woman in south Delhi's Defence Colony area, officials said on Saturday.

“Tausif Raja, who falsely claimed to be from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), went the complainant's residence on May 9 and claimed that her property had unclean drains for which she would be issued a challan of Rs 50,000," DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan said.

Threatening to disconnect power supply and ruin her son's marriage, Raja demanded Rs 25,000 from the woman to "settle" the matter, which she paid out of fear, the officer said.

“On May 13, Raja returned and demanded Rs 50 lakh from the woman, again threatening to sabotage the wedding. The complainant's husband handed over Rs 1.5 lakh in cash to the accused near the Modi Mill flyover," the DCP said.

"However, Raja continued to harass the family demanding more money, prompting the woman to file a complaint at the Defence Colony police station," he added.

Police arrested the accused from the Okhla area after scanning mobile call records and footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras, the DCP said.

Raja confessed to the crime during interrogation, he said, adding that police seized a motorcycle, the mobile phone used in the crime, and Rs 28,500 in cash from the accused's possession.

A graduate who previously worked as a property agent in the Shaheen Bagh area, Raja was earlier arrested in a cheating case registered at the IP Estate police station in 2018.

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