bengaluru the central crime branch on thursday arrested a 34yearold engineering graduate for extorting money from businessmen by posing as a cbi officer and threatening them with income tax evasion chargespolice said mp abhilash a resident of annasandrapalya in hal admitted to using tax threats to extract cash from at least 20 businessmen in the city officers seized rs 24 lakh in cash from the conman and impounded a mercedes benz and an audi from his residencejoint commissioner of police ccb sandeep patil said abhilash targeted builders industrialists after a twoyear extortion spree abhilash brought himself down by threatening a realtor who called his bluff and informed police an investigating officer saidfake officers behaviour made realtor approach policevijay reddy who has a real estate firm wanted to get into the software business the officer said abhilash learned about reddys plans through a friend contacted him and offered to help he set up a meeting with reddy at a restaurant at a star hotel in the cityduring the meeting abhilash asked reddy about how he planned to finance a new business when reddy said he could divert funds to the undertaking from his real estate business abhilash said he was with the cbi and investigating cases of realtors evading taxes the officer said a shocked reddy replied that he paid income tax regularly and did not have any undisclosed sources of incomeabhilash demanded rs 1 crore all the same threatening to file a case against reddy unless he paid him the money the officer said they negotiated and abhilash agreed to a payment of rs 24 lakh but the apparently corrupt cbi officers behaviour had by then appeared clearly suspect to reddy who decided to report him to policepolice said the unemployed engineer gave up the game when during questioning he could not explain how he got the money to buy the two expensive sedans that were registered in his name people whom abhilash cheated can approach us with details another ccb officer said