Two pose as Narwekar’s men to extort money; one arrested

Police in Mumbai have registered a case against two people who claimed to be associated with assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and attempted to extort money from individuals. One of the fraudsters has been arrested, while the search for the other is ongoing. The incident came to light when the accused approached a travel agency demanding money, claiming to be working for Narwekar. The police have booked the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

MUMBAI: The police on Friday registered a case against two persons for claiming to be associated with the assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and trying to extort people and threatening them with dire consequences if they didn’t fulfill their demands.

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One of the frauds, Jayesh Jadhav, a resident of Dadar East, was arrested late Friday night. The search for his accomplice, who is believed to be the main culprit, is on.

The incident came to light when the two accused went to the office of Nandita Bedi, who runs a tour and travels in Churchgate and is arranging the MLAs trip to South Africa on February 5.

“Some people reached her office, claiming to be Narwekar’s men, and have come from his office and demanded money from her,” said a police officer. “Fortunately, at the same time, Bedi was at Narwekar’s office in Cuffe-Parade to discuss the South Africa trip of the lawmakers.”

Bedi got a call from her office staff, Shreyas, who told her that two men had approached him and started demanding money claiming to the Narwekar’s men. One of them gave Shreyas his phone, claiming that Narwekar was on the call with him, and the person at the other end told him that the duo worked for him and asked him to pay them.

Bedi then told Shreyas that she was currently at Narwekar’s office and there was no need to pay them any money. When Shreyas told the two about it, they left, only to return sometime later. Again, they told Shreyas that Narwekar was on call, and again, the person on the other end asked him to pay them, said the police officer.

Shreyas told the man on call that his employer was sitting in Narwekar’s office, and he immediately disconnected the call, and the two left the place after threatening Bedi’s staffer with dire consequences.

After Bedi told the matter to the speaker, it was decided to report it to the police.

The cops then registered a case based on the complaint of Shivansh Singh, the personal assistant of Rahul Narwekar, and booked the accused under sections 34 (common intention), 385 (extortion), and 417 (personation) of the Indian Penal Code,” said the police officer.