‘MPCB officer’ held for con inspired by ‘Special 26’

The accused has been identified as Swaraj Ghosalkar, who allegedly used the name Sachin Mahadik while posing as an MPCB field officer

MUMBAI: A Class 12 pass-out allegedly took a leaf out of the bollywood movie ‘Special 26’ and tried to play a Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) officer, but his act ended with him in police custody. The unemployed man allegedly posed as an MPCB field officer, collected ₹10,000 from a Goregaon factory owner by threatening action over pollution violations and was arrested when he returned to demand more money, police said.

‘MPCB officer’ held for con inspired by ‘Special 26’

The accused has been identified as Swaraj Ghosalkar, who allegedly used the name Sachin Mahadik while posing as an MPCB field officer. He was arrested by Vanrai police after the factory owner alerted them when Mahadik returned to the premises on Tuesday.

Abdul Shaikh, senior police inspector of Vanrai police station, said, “The accused is unemployed and has studied up to Class 12. He took inspiration from the movie Special 26 and extorted ₹10,000 from the complainant. We have not found any previous record of him committing a similar offence.”

The complainant, Shailesh Povale, 52, owns Lakshmi Metallurgical and Marine Engineers at Kothari Industrial Estate in Goregaon East. According to police, on August 25, Povale was told by his accountant, Vijay Mandavkar, that an MPCB officer wanted to meet him.

Ghosalkar allegedly showed Povale a visiting card identifying him as an MPCB “Field Officer” and carrying the address of the board’s Sion office.

He allegedly told Povale that he and his team had taken over inspections from another field officer and threatened to report the company for pollution violations. He then allegedly demanded money.

Povale told police that Ghosalkar warned him of consequences if he did not pay. He then instructed his accountant to give Ghosalkar ₹10,000 in cash.

After Ghosalkar left, Povale contacted his BMC consultant, Kailas Mane, to verify his identity. Mane allegedly told him that no person named Sachin Mahadik worked as an MPCB field officer.

Ghosalkar later contacted Povale on WhatsApp and allegedly claimed that he had spoken to two senior MPCB officials, SRO Shakeel Shaikh and RO Suchit Dholan. He allegedly demanded another ₹25,000.

When Povale asked him to bring the senior officer to the company, Ghosalkar allegedly reduced the demand and later asked for ₹12,000 through Google Pay for a three-year clearance.

Povale said he could not make the payment online and asked Ghosalkar to come to the company the next morning for the cash.

When Ghosalkar arrived around 10am on Tuesday, Povale alerted the police. Following which, officers reached the premises and arrested him.

Police have registered a case for alleged impersonation and extortion.

On Fri, Aug 28, 2026 at 6:32 PM Vidhushi Rajpurohit <vidhushi.rajpurohit@hindustantimes.com> wrote:

Hi,

Okay, I will make the changes.

Thank you.

On Fri, Aug 28, 2026 at 6:26 PM Megha M Sood <megha.sood@htlive.com> wrote:

The accused has been identified as Swaraj Ghosalkar, who allegedly used the name Sachin Mahadik while posing as an MPCB field officer. He allegedly threatened factory owners with arrest for violating pollution-control norms.

Abdul Shaikh, senior police inspector of Vanrai police station, said, “The accused is unemployed and has studied up to Class 12. He took inspiration from the movie Special 26 and extorted ₹10,000 from the complainant. We have not found any previous record of him committing a similar offence. The investigation is underway.”

On Fri, 28 Aug, 2026, 17:49 Vidhushi Rajpurohit, <vidhushi.rajpurohit@hindustantimes.com> wrote:

Man posing as MPCB officer held for extorting money from factory owner

Megha Sood

megha.sood@hindustantimes.com

MUMBAI: An unemployed man allegedly posing as a Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) field officer was arrested after he allegedly collected ₹10,000 from a Goregaon factory owner by threatening to report the company for pollution violations, police said.

The accused, Sachin Mahadik, a Belapur resident, was arrested by Vanrai police after the factory owner alerted them when Mahadik returned to the premises on Tuesday. Police are now investigating whether he had targeted other companies and how much money he may have collected using the same guise.

The complainant, Shailesh Povale, 52, owns Lakshmi Metallurgical and Marine Engineers at Kothari Industrial Estate in Goregaon East. According to police, on August 25, Povale was told by his accountant, Vijay Mandavkar, that an MPCB officer wanted to meet him.

Mahadik allegedly showed Povale a visiting card identifying him as an MPCB “Field Officer” and carrying the address of the board’s Sion office.

He allegedly told Povale that he and his team had taken over inspections from another field officer and threatened to report the company for pollution violations. He then allegedly demanded money.

Povale told police that Mahadik warned him of consequences if he did not pay. He then instructed his accountant to give Mahadik ₹10,000 in cash.

After Mahadik left, Povale contacted his BMC consultant, Kailas Mane, to verify his identity. Mane allegedly told him that no person named Sachin Mahadik worked as an MPCB field officer.

Mahadik later contacted Povale on WhatsApp and allegedly claimed that he had spoken to two senior MPCB officials, SRO Shakeel Shaikh and RO Suchit Dholan. He allegedly demanded another ₹25,000.

When Povale asked him to bring the senior officer to the company, Mahadik allegedly reduced the demand and later asked for ₹12,000 through Google Pay for a three-year clearance.

Povale said he could not make the payment online and asked Mahadik to come to the company the next morning for the cash.

When Mahadik arrived around 10am on Tuesday, Povale alerted the police. Following which, officers reached the premises and arrested him.

Police have registered a case for alleged impersonation and extortion and are investigating whether Mahadik collected money from other companies.