Excise enforcement constable held for extortion from film celebrities with drug case threats

An excise enforcement constable has been taken into custody by the Cyberabad police on charges of harassing film celebrities and threatening to implicate them in drug cases unless they pay him money.

The accused has been identified as Umamaheshwar Rao, attached to the Excise State Task Force’s (STF) B team.

Investigators said Rao, who has served as an STF constable for seven years, had earlier been posted with the A team but was suspended after being implicated in a similar offence.

Despite this, he allegedly continued his activities, visiting the homes of celebrities while posing as an ‘inspector’.

According to sources, he threatened to book them in fabricated drug-related cases if they do not agree to his demands.

The case came to light after multiple celebrities approached the police with complaints of harassment and intimidation.

Following these reports, Rao was apprehended and placed under custody.

Police officials said that further investigation is underway to establish whether others were involved in the extortion attempts, and to determine the extent of his activities.