A mine owner from Bankura has filed a complaint of extortion of ₹1.5 crore against two men who claimed to be officers from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and were allegedly threatening to arrest him under a false case, police said.

Officers of Bidhannagar (south) police station received a complaint from Tapan Kumar Poi, a resident of Bankura, on Wednesday alleging that two men — whom he identified as Jinner Ali and Niser Ali — had introduced themselves as officers of the central agency and were threatening to arrest him if he did not pay an extortion money.

“According to the complaint, the accused persons introduced themselves as ED officers and accused him of running illegal sand mine operations,” said an officer of Bidhannagar (south) police station.

The duo allegedly forced the complainant to hand over ₹1.3 crore in cash in front of the Bidhanagar Commissionerate office near the Salt Lake stadium and also forced him to transfer ₹20 lakh through online transactions between August 2023 and June 2024, the complainant has reported to the police.

“The complainant was threatened with arrest and a raid on his business place. Based on his complaint, a case has been registered under sections of cheating, extortion and common intention,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.

Sources said a probe has been launched to establish the actual identity of the accused duo.

This is not the first time any Calcuttan has been duped by men who pose as police officers or officers of any central law enforcement agency like the CBI or the ED.

Police said they received the complaint on Wednesday and have initiated a probe.

No one had been arrested till Thursday evening.