Pune Gangland: Gang Apprehended After Attempted Extortion of Rs 20 Lakh, Posing as Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar
By India Crime Correspondent
PUNE, January 15, 2022
In a daring extortion attempt, Pune city police have successfully apprehended six individuals accused of trying to extort a substantial sum of Rs 20 lakh from a prominent builder.
The audacious act involved the gang utilizing a ‘fake call’ application to impersonate the phone number of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Accused Names and Motives Revealed
The suspects have been identified as Navnath Bhausaheb Chormale (28) and Akash Sharad Nikalje (24) of Wade Bolhai in Haveli, Saurabh Narayan Kakade (20) of Hadapsar, Sunil alias Bala Gautam Waghmare (28) and Kiran Rambhau Kakade (25) from Theoor, and Chaitanya Rajendra Waghmare (19) of Fursungi.
Their alleged motive was to extort the substantial sum under the guise of resolving a land dispute at Mauje Shiraswadi village in Wade Bolhai.
Impersonation and Intimidation Tactics Employed
Operating with calculated precision, one of the suspects employed a “fake call app” on a mobile device, enabling them to establish contact with the targeted builder.
The number used for the call was cleverly made to resemble the deputy chief minister’s contact information. Subsequently, the gang visited the builder’s office, issuing threats and demanding the hefty sum of Rs 20 lakh, coupled with the ominous promise that the builder’s ongoing project would face hindrance if compliance was not met.
Builder’s Alertness Leads to Foiling the Extortion Plot
Fortuitously, the targeted builder quickly alerted the authorities, thus thwarting the criminal design.
A special crime branch unit devised a stratagem involving counterfeit currency notes to ensnare the extortionists.
The builder readied four bundles of dummy notes, each containing 400 fake Rs 500 denomination notes. In tandem, undercover police officers posed as regular staff members within the builder’s establishment.
Swift Arrests at the Scene of the Crime
On a fateful Thursday, three of the culprits, namely Chormale, Saurabh Kakade, and Waghmare, materialized at the builder’s office to claim their ill-gotten gains.
To their dismay, they were apprehended red-handed while attempting to accept the counterfeit currency. Law enforcement officers wasted no time in taking action, nabbing three other accomplices as well, including Kiran Kakade, the individual responsible for initiating contact with the builder via the “fake call app”.
Meanwhile, the remaining trio were stationed outside the builder’s office, ostensibly to keep a lookout.
Legal Measures and Criminal Records Exposed
Following the incident, an FIR was lodged at the Bund Garden police station, with the six accused facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 385, 386, 506, and 34, in addition to relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
Notably, Chormale, one of the principal figures in the plot, had previously been arrested in connection with four cases involving charges of attempted murder, extortion, and caste-based crimes.
Seized Items and Concluding Remarks
Subsequent investigations by the authorities yielded significant evidence, including the dummy currency notes, six mobile phones, a car, and a motorcycle, collectively valued at Rs 6.56 lakh.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the lengths some criminals will go to exploit technological advancements for their unlawful gains.
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