3 political workers held for extorting Mhada engineer

DNA: Mumbai: Sunday, December 21, 2014.

Having their smiling faces plastered on a political banner proved costly for three men. The three, identified by the police and victim from a banner in Bandra, were recently arrested for allegedly engaging in extortion.

Who are the accused?

The three, identified as Satyakant Tiwari, 40, Firoz Masuldar, 30, Ahmed Umar Shaikh, 30, are said to belong to the transport wing of a leading political party.

What's the allegation against them?

City crime branch sleuths said they extorted a junior engineer working with the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada). Police sources said the three used to call up government officers and tell them that they have got incriminating information on them (the officers) after filing RTI applications. The gang would then demand money from them, threatening to expose them if they failed to cough up.

How did the gang threaten Mhada engineer?

According to additional commissioner of police, crime, the three were threatening the engineer for the past one month.

Senior inspector Deepak Phatangre said, "The accused used to file applications under the Right to Information Act against government officers to intimidate them and later demand money from them. In the case of the junior engineer, they told him that they have found out he's into accepting bribes. They extorted Rs1 lakh from him. But then, they became greedy and demanded Rs10 lakh more from him."

"The trio also used to claim that their close friend enjoys the status of a central minister while demanding money. They also threatened the engineer that if he did not pay up, they would harm his children. Worried, he then approached the Kherwadi police," Phatangre added.

How were they finally caught?

The victim provided the three men's names and contact numbers to the police. "As they belonged to a political party, we went through political banners in Bandra and spotted the three on one of them. The victim too identified them. On receipt of specific information, a trap was laid at Hill Road and the suspects were nabbed on Friday," said an officer.