Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Crime Branch's Unit 9 has arrested two men, including a sitting deputy sarpanch, for allegedly demanding ₹80 lakh in extortion money to allow a stone quarry to operate in Wada taluka of Palghar district and threatening the complainant with a pistol. The arrests were made by Unit 9 of the Crime Branch after laying a trap in Andheri.
In a unique operation, the complainant used bundles containing fake toy currency notes worth ₹30 lakh, with genuine ₹500 notes placed on the front and back of each bundle, to lure the accused into accepting the money.
The arrested accused have been identified as Machhindra Ankush Pashte (42), a resident of Pashtepada, Vijaynagar, Kudus, Wada, and Vaibhav Vilas Harad (37), a resident of Budhavali, Kudus, Wada. Pashte is the sitting deputy sarpanch and is also reportedly a journalist.
A case has also been registered against Sanjay Patil and other associates in connection with the alleged extortion. Girraj Kishor Agarwal (62), a businessman based in Andheri, lodged the complaint at Amboli police station.
Threats over quarry project, protection money allegedly demanded
According to the complaint, Agarwal had purchased land at Dongaste in Wada taluka to establish a stone quarry. His manager had approached the gram panchayat to obtain the necessary gram sabha resolution and no-objection certificate (NOC) required to start operations.
At the time, Pashte, who was then a gram panchayat member and is currently the deputy sarpanch, and Harad allegedly threatened that the business would not be allowed to commence unless ₹1 crore was paid as protection money.
The complaint states that Agarwal eventually paid ₹40 lakh in instalments following negotiations to facilitate the commencement of the business.
However, upon verification, the gram sabha resolution and NOC allegedly provided by the accused were found to be forged. When Agarwal questioned them about the documents, the accused allegedly threatened to implicate him in a false criminal case.
On September 2, the accused allegedly visited Agarwal's office in Andheri, placed a pistol on the table and threatened to kill him before demanding another ₹80 lakh.
Toy currency used to lay trap
Fearing repeated threats, Agarwal approached Crime Branch Unit 9 for assistance. Under the guidance of Police Inspector Sachin Puranik, the police devised a plan to apprehend the accused.
The complainant purchased toy currency notes from Crawford Market. Genuine ₹500 notes were placed at the front and back of each bundle, while toy notes were inserted in between to make them appear genuine. A total of 30 bundles, appearing to represent ₹30 lakh, were packed in a bag.
On October 15, the accused arrived at a restaurant in Crystal Plaza, Andheri West, to collect the money. As soon as they accepted the red bag from the complainant, the Crime Branch team, which had been lying in wait, swooped in and caught both men red-handed.
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Case registered under BNS and Arms Act
The police have seized four expensive mobile phones and other property from the accused.
A case has been registered at Amboli police station under Sections 308(5), 351(3), 3(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act, 1959.
Police Inspector Rohan Deshmukh is conducting further investigations into the case.
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