E-Paper
Pune police on lookout for RTI activist booked for Rs 2 crore extortion
Ravindra Barhate was booked along with a journalist, a suspended constable, a woman who alleged sexual assault by Karnataki, a local goon in a case registered at Kothrud police station
Ravindra Barhate, a right to information (RTI) activist, once known for going after land-related deals through RTI, is now himself in trouble after the police have filed a first information report (FIR) against him.
The city police are currently searching for Barhate after his name was listed in the five people accused of extortion worth Rs 2 crore of a builder named Sudhir Karnataki.
Barhate was booked along with a journalist, a suspended constable, a woman who alleged sexual assault by Karnataki, a local goon in a case registered at Kothrud police station.
“He has filed for anticipatory bail. The court decision will be issued tomorrow (Friday) in the matter. He is currently eluding arrest. If the anticipatory bail is rejected and once we track him, we will be able to arrest him,” said Pornima Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, zone 3, Pune.
According to the complainant, Barhate was among the five people who approached him and demanded Rs 2 crore extortion money along with a piece of land in Bhawani peth. The complainant has submitted that an allegedly false case of sexual assault was registered against, him by the woman among the group of five, as he failed to pay the money.
However, this is not the first case against Barhate who also has a real estate business in the city.
In 2016, a case of extortion was filed against Barhate at Bund Garden police station for alleged extortion worth Rs 5 crore. The complaint in the matter was lodged by city-based realtor Hemant Gavande, who happened to be whistleblower in Eknath Khade’s MIDC land case which forced the BJP leader to give up his ministership during 2016.
Barhate had allegedly acquired information about Gavande’s projects through RTI and claimed that the land Gavande had developed belonged to the Agriculture College, Pune. The builder had alleged that Barhate had demanded Rs 5 crore in exchange for the withdrawal of the complaint.
Barhate was often seen with Khadse when the latter was opposition leader in Maharashtra and alleged of 116 land scams collectively worth Rs 80,000 in the national media in 2014.
In 2016, Barhate had raised government land grabbing allegation against the Panchshil Tech Park in which NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was minority stakeholder. The police later filed a complaint against the realtor
The Panchshil realty group is owned by Atul and Sagar Chordia brothers who are also known for their partnership with US President Donald Trump’s realty project - Trump Towers - in Pune.
In October 2018, BJP MLA Yogesh Tilekar was booked in a case of extortion of Rs 50 lakh registered at Kondhwa police station. The complaint was lodged by Barhate in the capacity of a manager at a local fibre optics company called Evision Teleinfra Private Limited.
After the case, Senior police inspector Milind Gaikwad of Kondhwa police station was transferred from his position, leading to a protest outside the police station.
Incidentally, the case was registered around two months after the owner of Evision Teleinfra Private Limited, Rahul Bhaskar Gangote, had approached the police with a similar extortion complaint against MLA and Shiv Sena leader Vinayak Nimhan.
Members or supporters of a political party masquerading as RTI activists is not unheard of. However, some were pioneers of the act while the others are now following.
