Bhubaneswar: Acting on a tip-off, Puri’s Singhadwar police arrested a group of nine men who allegedly posed as servitors and extorted money from devotees by promising them quicker ‘darshan’.Accused Sukanta Mohanty (40), Raghunath Nanda (37), Kusha Pradhan (29), Saroj Behera (30), Bikram Charan Samal (30), Tofan Jena (34), Pintuna Behera (22), Ajay Swain (36) and Jagannath Pradhan (35) are all residents of Puri.Puri superintendent of police Prateek Singh said the accused operated near the temple and targeted pilgrims by claiming they could facilitate special ‘darshan’ and help them skip long queues and security checks.“During the operation, we found them harassing devotees, posing as servitors and guides, near the shrine’s north gate. They were forcing pilgrims to avail their services,” Singh said.Police said the group had been active for the past few weeks, charging devotees between Rs 200 and Rs 500. Police suspect several pilgrims were cheated, though many did not lodge formal complaints.According to police, some of the accused allegedly dressed like genuine servitors to win the confidence of visitors, particularly tourists from other states such as West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In several cases, they allegedly collected money and disappeared into the crowd, leaving devotees stranded.Police said the accused also operated around bus stands, railway stations and Grand Road, where they approached arriving pilgrims and pressured them into hiring their services. Devotees who refused were allegedly subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation.Appealing to visitors to remain vigilant, Singh advised devotees to follow only official procedures for darshan and avoid dealing with unauthorised intermediaries.Police said efforts are underway to identify other members of similar rackets operating around the temple town.