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Journalist booked for extortion threat
The FIR states that the accused visited the office of the complainant and threatened to publish news regarding an illegal gambling den operational from the place and demanded ₹5,000 per month
The Cantonment Police have booked a journalist identified as Suraj M Patole of Ramtekdi Hadapsar for allegedly demanding an extortion of ₹5,000 per month from BJP leader Rajesh Janardhan Shrigiri (55) at 24, East Street in Camp between December 20 and December 24.
The FIR states that the accused visited the office of the complainant and threatened to publish news regarding an illegal gambling den operational from the place and demanded ₹5,000 per month. He told Shrigiri that other businessmen gave him extortion amount. Cantonment police station incharge Dashrath Patil said, “We have lodged a case under IPC 385 and 506 against the accused for threatening a businessman and demanding extortion money. The journalist seems to be running a weekly newspaper and had issued threats of publishing the report.”
During 2019, during one of the raids, the unit II of the crime branch under the then deputy commissioner of police (DCP), crime, Bacchan Singh had booked Shrigiri at Bhimpura Camp and 14 others for allegedly being found gambling. He was arrested and booked under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act.
