An unidentified man posed as a senior officer with the Income Tax Department, blackmailed an assistant road transport officer and conned him of ₹5 lakh.

On Tuesday, B. Annadanaiah, an ARTO in Hunsur and resident of Magadi Road, Bengaluru, received a call on his mobile phone from a man who identified himself as Manjunath Nayak. He claimed to be a joint commissioner with the Income Tax Department who was investigating a disproportionate assets case against Annadanaiah.

Nayak claimed that he was sending a team to raid the officer’s house.

Annadanaiah, tried to reason with him after which Nayak allegedly offered to drop the charges for ₹15 lakh in cash. Annadanaiah said he didn’t have that kind of cash and negotiated the amount to ₹5 lakh.

They met at a coffee shop in Garuda mall where Annadanaiah handed over the cash. After waiting for a day, Annadanaiah tried to call Nayak but found that his phone was not reachable. He decided to cross-check with the Income Tax Department and learned that there was no disproportionate assets case against him.

Based on his complaint, the police have filed a case of cheating and extortion.