PUNE: Pimpri-Chinchwad police arrested a 28-year-old man on Tuesday for running an extortion racket, officers familiar with the case said on Wednesday. The Crime Branch’s Anti-Extortion Cell laid a trap after a businessman filed a complaint that a local criminal was threatening him to pay ‘protection money’ or face “elimination”.
The businessman, Shrikant Shamrao Babar (44), a resident of Samarth Nagar, New Sangvi, runs a private security agency which supplies guards to commercial units. In his complaint filed on Tuesday, Babar stated that between June 25 and June 29, a local goon named Mahesh Sakharam Shirole (28) had made threatening calls to him and his firm’s supervisor, Sandeep Kanase.
According to the complaint, Shirole initially demanded ₹10 lakh which was reduced to ₹6 lakh in subsequent calls. Shirole threatened to shut down Babar’s security business and “finish him off” if he failed to pay. Fearing for his life, Babar agreed to pay a first installment of ₹3,00,000 on June 30.
Meanwhile, Babar approached the Anti-Extortion Cell, which chalked out a plan to nab the alleged extortionist. A police team prepared six currency stacks consisting of both original and counterfeit notes. They tied the entire dummy stack with rubber bands, sealed it inside a plastic bag, and gave it to supervisor Kanase for delivery to the extortionist.
The police team also marked an active perimeter around the pre-arranged handover location. At 5:50 pm on Tuesday, the accused arrived near Magazine Chowk on Alandi-Pune Road in Dighi. As he accepted the plastic bag containing the currency bait from Kanase, the waiting police personnel nabbed him and created a formal spot seizure report in the presence of independent witnesses.
{{/usCountry}}The police team also marked an active perimeter around the pre-arranged handover location. At 5:50 pm on Tuesday, the accused arrived near Magazine Chowk on Alandi-Pune Road in Dighi. As he accepted the plastic bag containing the currency bait from Kanase, the waiting police personnel nabbed him and created a formal spot seizure report in the presence of independent witnesses.
{{/usCountry}}Police also seized cash, vehicles, and other paraphernalia from the accused, collectively valued at ₹11,06,000.
Rohidas Pawar, DCP (Crime), Pimpri Chinchwad Police, said, “The accused was threatening the victim and trying to extort money from him. Accordingly, we laid the trap and arrested the accused.”
A case was registered at Dighi Police Station under sections 308(2) and 308(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is ongoing.