Forest Official Impersonator Arrested for Builder Extortion

A builder from Shil Daighar area of Thane lodged a complaint against him in this connection, he said.Posing as a forest department official, Bhalerao lodged complaints against the victim and other builders in the region to extort money.

Police have arrested a 33-year-old man for allegedly extorting builders in Thane district of Maharashtra by posing as a forest department staffer, an official said.

The Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Thane police's crime branch arrested the accused Prasadkumar Uttam Bhalerao, he said. A builder from Shil Daighar area of Thane lodged a complaint against him in this connection, he said.

''Posing as a forest department official, Bhalerao lodged complaints against the victim and other builders in the region to extort money. On April 23, the accused demanded Rs 7,60,000 from the victim for withdrawing complaints and RTI applications against him,'' Assistant Commissioner of Police (STF) Shekar Bagde said.

After the victim's complaint, the police teams laid a trap and apprehended Bhalerao while accepting the extortion amount of Rs 5.60 lakh at Shil village around 6 pm on Thursday, he said. A case was registered in this connection at the Shil-Daighar police station on April 25 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 384, 385, 387 (all pertaining to extortion), 170 (personating a public servant), he said.

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