Thane Crime: 72-year-old man arrested for extorting over Rs 3 lakh from builder

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A 72-year-old man was arrested by Mumbai Police's anti-extortion cell (AEC) for allegedly extorting over Rs 3 lakh from a builder in Thane.

Based on a complaint, the police caught the accused while accepting Rs 3.11 lakh on June 9, senior inspector Maloji Shinde of the AEC said. The accused has been identified as Mukesh Bechardas Kanakiya.

The complainant Kantilal Bouva had got a contract for redeveloping a housing society. The accused, who claims to be an RI activist, had obtained information from the civic authorities about the redevelopment work and made applications stating that the construction was illegal, the official said.

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The accused then allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh from the complainant to withdraw the applications and after due negotiations, settled for Rs 3.6 lakh. He then sought Rs 10 lakh and threatened to stop the construction work, he said. The police also carried out searches on the premises of the accused and seized Rs 4 lakh cash and some RTI applications, the official said. Further probe is underway.

With inputs from PTI