2 held for impersonating municipal officers, extorting from hotel owners

The Kashimira police on Friday arrested two men for allegedly trying to extort money from hotel owners by impersonating Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) employees and newspaper reporters

MUMBAI: The Kashimira police on Friday arrested two men for allegedly trying to extort money from hotel owners by impersonating Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) employees and newspaper reporters. They used to threaten the owners that their establishments would be demolished if they failed to pay them.

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According to Kashimira police, the accused were arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and brought to Mumbai for further investigation. Rajendra Kamble, senior inspector of Kashimira police station, said that more than 15 hotel owners had approached them, after which a case under sections 308 (4) and 308 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for extortion was registered.

On July 4 the accused, identified as Jayesh Nandu Sawant and Himanshu Jaipal Singh, had taken ₹30,000 from each of the hotel owners by telling them that their establishments were illegal and, hence, would be demolished.

“The two accused had started this scam after the MBMC launched a drive for demolishing parts, or in whole, hotels and bars which were unauthorised, following orders issued by chief minister Eknath Shinde,” said Kamble.

The officials said that Sawant and Singh approached the hotel owners on the pretext of being employees of the civic body or of a popular news channel and threatened them that part of their establishment was unauthorised and they had orders to carry out the demolition of their premises based on the chief minister’s order. When the owner would plead with them to spare him, the two asked from ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 to leave without demolishing the premises.

Days later, when the hotel owners found out that the two men were imposters, they registered an FIR. “At least 10 hotel owners have come forward till now. There are cases against the two in Mumbra, Kasarvadavli, Dahisar and Vile Parle, all filed by bar owners,” said Kamble.