Police have busted a pseudo–Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) gang and arrested three Maoist imposters for threatening and extorting money from traders in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh on August 22, reports newsmeter.in. The accused have been identified as Boda Venkatesh (23), Saikuri Prasad (22), and Kondeti Veerababu (25). While Boda and Saikuri hail from Telangana, Kondeti is from the East Godavari Agency. The trio were operating in Yetapaka Mandal (administrative sub-division), and their modus operandi included instilling fear and extorting money from traders. Posing as Maoists, they used to put up threat pamphlets at traders' premises. Unable to endure harassment, traders approached Police and sought protection. Police recovered two CPI-Maoist party letterheads, a motorcycle, three cell phones, and cash of INR 2,280 from their possession. The accused also confessed to have extorted INR 50,000 from fertilizer traders in Thotapalli and Lakshmipuram villages, Police said.