Man held for ₹1 crore extortion attempt targeting Chhagan Bhujbal’s PA

The accused, identified as Rahul Bhusare, a resident of Karanjali in Nashik district, was arrested on Friday following a joint operation by Nashik police personnel

The Nashik police crime branch arrested a 28-year-old man from Gujarat for allegedly attempting to extort ₹1 crore from the personal assistant of senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former state minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

Gaikwad, who had access to Bhujbal’s mobile phone during this period, received multiple calls with threats of imminent raids. (HT)

The accused, identified as Rahul Bhusare, a resident of Karanjali in Nashik district, was arrested on Friday following a joint operation by Nashik police personnel. He had been impersonating an Income Tax (IT) officer to threaten Bhujbal’s PA, Santosh Gaikwad, between April 23 and May 16, 2025.

According to the police, Bhusare—a B.Sc graduate—repeatedly called Gaikwad using different phone numbers, claiming to be part of an IT team. He alleged that Bhujbal had stored large sums of unaccounted cash at his farmhouse in Trimbakeshwar and demanded ₹1 crore to prevent a supposed IT raid.

Gaikwad, who had access to Bhujbal’s mobile phone during this period, received multiple calls with threats of imminent raids. Following these threats, a complaint was lodged, prompting a swift investigation by the Nashik police.

“We traced the accused using technical surveillance and call records. A team was sent to Gujarat’s Dharampur area near the state border,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Prashant Bachhav.

“The accused kept changing his location to evade arrest. Our team laid a trap using original currency notes along with bundles of children’s play money. He was eventually caught red-handed at a hotel near Ritam Valley.”

Speaking to the media, Bhujbal said, “My PA received a call from an unknown number claiming that my bungalow in Trimbakeshwar was under IT scanner. The caller posed as an Income Tax official and demanded ₹1 crore to call off the raid. We immediately approached the police, who acted promptly and arrested him.”

Police said Bhusare admitted to the extortion attempt during questioning. Investigators are probing whether others were involved in the scheme or if similar attempts were made elsewhere.

A case has been registered at Ambad police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 204 (destruction of evidence), 308(2) and 308(5) (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 351(4) (criminal intimidation).