Pune: Six Arrested For Using Maharashtra Deputy CM's Number In Bid To Extort Rs 20 Lakh From Builder

In Mumbai, there was a fake ransom gang who was using Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's number for ransom, which was busted by the Crime branch.

New Delhi: Six persons have been arrested for allegedly using the phone number of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to contact a builder in Pune and later attempting to extort Rs 20 lakh from the latter, police informed on Friday.

According to an official, the Crime branch laid a trap and nabbed the accused on Thursday while they were taking Rs 2 lakh from the builder. It was informed that one of the accused used Pawar's number on the "fake call" application to contact the complainant and pretended to be a staff member of the Deputy Chief Minister.

The accused have been identified as Navnath Chormale, Saurabh Kakade, Sunil Waghmare, Kiran Kakde, Chaitanya Waghmare, and Akash Nikalje, news agency PTI reported.

An official said, “The developer had purchased a parcel of land from Chormale’s grandfather in 1997 after due process. Chormale recently sought compensation from the developer and filed a litigation. He told about the same to Kakde, who then offered his help by claiming to know Pawar’s personal assistant and promised that he would ask him to call the developer”.

Kakade then called the builder using Pawar's phone number through the fake call app, he added. 

“The developer’s assistant received the call presuming that it was Pawar who was calling. Kakade introduced himself as Pawar’s PA and instructed him to ‘settle’ the matter with Chormale,” the official said, as quoted by PTI.

The builder then directly called Pawar's PA for confirmation. He was told that the call had not been made from the deputy chief minister’s phone, he said. After this, the builder approached Chormale who demanded Rs 20 lakh from him to settle the case.

“The accused was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 2 lakh. During the investigation, Kakade revealed that he had used a fake call app and used Pawar’s number,” the official informed.

Chormale, Kakade, and the other four involved in the conspiracy have been arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).