ET, Satyam scribes held for extortion

Two senior executives and journalists with The Economic Times and Satyam Infoway have been arrested on charges of extortion filed by the pro...

Two senior executives and journalists with The Economic Times and Satyam Infoway have been arrested on charges of extortion filed by the proprietor of a finance company. The accused — Deputy Manager of The Economic Times, Rishi Chopra (31) and Joseph Prizee of Satyam Infoway — were arrested on Monday and remanded to custody till February 25.

The First Information Report states that Chopra had told Poonamchand Maloo, proprietier of Maloo Finances and Securities Pvt Ltd, that he was aware that Maloo Finances was involved in a scandal. He also claimed that complaints had been filed against the firm with the MRA Marg police station and the Sebi.

To bolster his credibility, Chopra dispatched a charter of 25 questions in interview format to Maloo. Chopra and Prizee also told Maloo that they were aware of another case against his firm and demanded Rs 1 crore in return for their silence.

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The sum was allegedly reduced to Rs 25 lakh and the duo accepted Rs 5 lakh as the first installment in the lobby of a five-star hotel on February 3. Chopra and Prizee were arrested in the lobby of the same hotel, where they were waiting for Maloo to deliver the next installment on February 17, says Senior Inspector of Police, Mohan Kulkarni, with the Crime Branch.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Bhaskar Das, brand director of The Economic Times, states that ‘‘if he (Chopra) has exceeded his brief in a personal capacity, we condemn any such action. His past body of work stands up to scrutiny, and we feel this is one stray instance of a Machiavellian misadventure with the friend who is a co-accused.’’