Mumbai: The Dindoshi police have booked unknown persons for extorting nearly Rs 1 crore from a 39-year-old resident of Malad East under the pretext of implicating him in a fake murder case.
About The Case
The accused contacted the complainant, Rahul Gupta, posing as the Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Joint Commissioner of Police, and other police officers. They also threatened to kill him in an encounter and kidnap his family. After losing Rs1 crore, Gupta left his residence when the fraudsters demanded more money. The police traced him after his wife filed a missing complaint and brought him to the police station. He later lodged a complaint against four unidentified persons.
According to the FIR registered on December 20, Gupta’s family runs a Bharat Petroleum gas agency in Malad. The family has a gas godown at Appapada, Kurar. Nearly four years ago, one Pravin Khedekar met Gupta at the godown and sought donations every year for Ganeshotsav celebrations. In September 2024, Khedekar contacted Gupta, stating he was facing financial problems. He also provided a mobile number for Google Pay transfers. Gupta transferred Rs10,600 in various instalments.
A month later, he received a call from a person claiming to be the Commissioner of Mumbai Police. The fraudster told him that Khedekar had killed someone and that Gupta had allegedly given him a supari and transferred money to him, records of which were available with the police. He further stated that if Gupta did not want to be arrested, he would have to pay Rs5,000 to “their man”. Gupta paid in cash a 65-year-old man who met him at a BMC garden in Malad East.
A few days later, Gupta again received a call from the purported Commissioner of Police, who told him that Khedekar had been killed to ‘save’ Gupta. A demand of Rs2 lakh was made, which Gupta paid. A few days later, he received a call from one Avinash Shinde, a police officer investigating Khedekar’s purported murder. He sought Rs7 lakh to “settle” the case. Another demand of Rs20 lakh was made in the next call, with threats of “encounter and kidnap of family”.
Under constant threats, Gupta paid Rs80 lakh in cash in various instalments to the same 65-year-old man. The remaining amount was transferred online from his Bank of India account to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused. On December 14 this year, when another demand was made, Gupta left home without informing anyone, allegedly contemplating suicide.
On the same day, his wife, Nikita, 35, filed a missing complaint. Five days later, the police traced him at Dahanu railway station in Palghar. After hearing the entire sequence of events, the police recorded his statement and registered an FIR against four unidentified individuals under Sections 308(4), 308(5), 308(6) (extortion), and 3(5) (general explanation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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