Man impersonating BJP state unit chief’s PA attempts to extort money from doctor; arrested

Ashtul was arrested from his house in Pune, according to police.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police for impersonating the personal assistant of Chandrakant Patil, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Maharashtra unit, to extort money from a doctor in Pune.

The doctor, whose name is being withheld, is a resident of Ravet and received a call at 4pm on July 18 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The arrested man was identified as Saurabh Santosh Ashtul (21), a resident of Lohiyanagar, Ganj peth, Pune, according to a statement issued by the police.

“He is unemployed. We are investigating why he was targeting the doctor and whether he has done this with other people too,” said senior police inspector Ganesh Javadwad of Nigdi police station.

Ashtul was arrested from his house in Pune, according to police.

A case under sections 387 (putting the person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion), 501 (printing or engraving matter is known to be defamatory), 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code was registered at Nigdi police station based on a complaint lodged by Dr Shrikrushna Gangadhar Joshi who works at Lokmanya hospital in Nigdi.

The doctor, whose name is being withheld, is a resident of Ravet and received a call at 4pm on July 18 by a person who claimed to be the BJP leader’s personal assistant. He demanded Rs 25 lakh from the doctor in the name of the politician.

According to the complainant, the caller asked for the Rs 25 lakh to help the poor who have suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The caller also allegedly threatened to kill the doctor if he failed to give the money.

The doctor went to the local police.

Ashtul was remanded to three days in police custody by a local court on Thursday.