On July 24, the Shivajinagar police detained a person named Irshad for causing a disturbance in a restaurant. A case was registered against him under the Arms Act. Irshad was arrested around 2:30 am and was then held at the police station.

The next day, a deputy superintendent of a police rank officer attached to the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) visited the Shivajinagar police station as he had received a complaint of illegal detention. After going through the documents, the officer was convincedthat Irshad was arrested legally.

The police suspected foul play. They discovered that the KSHRC officer had previously visited Hennur, RT Nagar, Shivajinagar, and Ramamurthy Nagar for similar issues.
By then, the Shivajinagar police inspector also received a call from another informant stating that Ahmed was behind the incident and he was demanding Rs 50,000 to withdraw the complaint.

The police pretended to accept his deal. When Ahmed approached for the payoff, they arrested him and recorded the transaction. Subsequently, Ahmed was detained, and during the interrogation, it was revealed that he had committed similar offences in many police stations associated with the East, Northeast, and Whitefield divisions.

A police officer said, “Ahmed, who was an informant, had built a network of lower-ranking police personnel, especially the crime units of the police station, who provided information to him. He used to visit the police stations often and check if there were any detainees in the cell. He then used to strike up a conversation to get further details and file cases with the KSHRC. When the police inspectors came under the radar, he demanded money to withdraw the complaint.”

The police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Ahmed under sections 308 (2) (extortion) and 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant in the execution of their duty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and began verifying the claims of extortion.