The recovery of mobile phones and sim cards has almost become the norm in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, the state's largest prison. But now the police have unearthed an extortion racket being run from the Vadodara Central Jail.

The kingpin is one Vishal Naik, an undertrial in a murder case, whose residence was raided in Ahmedabad after the police received extortion complaints from fellow inmates in the Vadodara Central Jail.

On Sunday morning, Naik was taken to the Himmatnagar district jail on a transfer warrant after the Vadodara city police unearthed the extortion racket this January.

Naik was a recovery agent arrested on murder charges. He is also the key accused in the infamous Chetan Battery alias Chetan Patel murder case in the Sabarmati Central Jail in August 2005.

Vadodara Assistant Jail Superintendent A C Adroja confirmed that Naik has been transferred to the Himmatnagar Jail.

Vadodara Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) officers said Naik is accused of extorting more than Rs 80,000 from one Parag, another inmate in the Vadodara Central Jail.

Parag, who is behind bars on a Rs 15 lakh forgery case, had earlier complained to the jail authorities, sources said.

While being behind bars, Naik, according to sources, used to make ransom calls demanding money from Parag’s family in Porbandar. Parag used to co-operate because of Naik’s terror in the jail. From Porbandar, the money was sent to Ahmedabad through Naik’s Hawala connections, said the police, adding that Naik’s father, Vishnu, and his brother, Prashant, collected this money on Naik’s behalf in Ahmedabad. “Vishnu and Prashant were arrested and produced before a local court here,” said a DCB officer.

Even more interesting, said officers, was the fact that Vishnu has, in the last couple of months, sent money orders worth more than Rs 40,000 for Naik’s reported ‘business’ inside the jail. “These money orders were sent in the names of other inmates, but were eventually received by Naik himself,” an officer said.

Naik, the police said, used to stock essential commodities, jail coupons and cigarettes with this money and later sell it to others at high prices. “All inmates, including the erstwhile jail gang leader, Gova Rabbari, used to purchase these items at prices decided by Naik,” a source said.

Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana is now personally supervising the case. There is also a speculation that there could be other inmates like Parag, from whom Naik had extorted money.