Mumbai Police Crack Down on Extortion Racket Targeting BMC Engineer

Mumbai police's Anti Extortion Cell arrested five men for demanding Rs 55 lakh from a BMC engineer by threatening to expose his alleged forged academic documents. The engineer, Dharmaraj Dawane, reported the crime to the police, who laid a trap and captured the suspects while accepting a Rs 2 lakh bribe.

The Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of Mumbai police has detained five individuals for demanding Rs 55 lakh from a BMC engineer. They threatened him with exposure over alleged forged academic documents, according to an official statement on Tuesday.

The suspects contacted Dharmaraj Dawane, an engineer with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, asserting that his academic records were falsified, the police revealed.

They attempted to extort Rs 55 lakh from Dawane to avoid filing a police complaint. Dawane, however, went to the Goregaon police station, transferring the case to the Anti Extortion Cell. The unit laid a trap in Teen Dongri area, capturing the suspects while accepting a Rs 2 lakh bribe.

The apprehended individuals have been identified as Pratap Chokhandare (49), Abhayraj Patel (48), Shekhar Sapkal (33), Santosh Nair (45), and Rafique Mulani (39). Further investigations are ongoing, the police spokesperson added.

(With inputs from agencies.)