Andheri police on Thursday arrested five persons for allegedly trying to extort Rs 2 lakh from a trader in Andheri.

The arrests were made after a complaint lodged by Ejaz Ahmed Butt, owner of a shop selling handicrafts, carpets and jewellery at Chakala.

The accused have been identified as Umesh Jadhav, Mohammad Shaikh, Rabia Mulla, Ronnie Crasto and Shankar Shetty.

According to police inspector Suhas Raikar from Andheri police station, Ahmed lodged the complaint on Tuesday saying that Jadhav, posing as chief of the Human Rights Commission, and Sheikh, calling himself a journalist from an English daily, entered his shop along with the three other accused.

The five persons accused Ahmed of selling his goods at a price higher than the market price.

“They threatened to expose him through a sting operation,” Raikar said, and asked him to cough up a sum of Rs 2 lakh if he didn’t want any action taken against him.

Ahmed agreed to their demand and asked them to visit his shop later to collect the money. “After the accused went off, Ejaz approached the police. We laid a trap at the shop and arrested the accused,” Raikar said.

The accused have been sent to police custody.