Man poses as RTI activist to extort money, arrested

A 29-year-old man was arrested by the anti-extortion cell on Friday night at Ulhasnagar for posing as a Right To Information (RTI) activist and extorting money from

A 29-year-old man was arrested by the anti-extortion cell on Friday night at Ulhasnagar for posing as a Right To Information (RTI) activist and extorting money from people by blackmailing them with information sought under RTI act.

HT Image

The accused Nitesh Khatwani allegedly would file RTI applications and use that to extort builders or contractors.

Rajendra Shrikhande, contractor, complained to the Police on Friday about Khatwani.

“We got a complaint that he was blackmailing Shrikhande alleging that it [Shrikhande’s building project] was an illegal construction and tried to extort ₹1 lakh from him. We laid a trap on Friday evening and caught him red-handed. Then we came to know that he has used the same modus operandi to extort others also. Hence, we have asked more people to come forward with their complaints against the accused,” said RV Kothmire, senior inspector, anti extortion cell, Thane.