Four individuals, including two police constables, allegedly kidnapped and assaulted a pan shop owner in Andheri, and extorted Rs 40,000 by posing as food officials, according to news agency IANS. The accused police officials have been identified as Hemant Kapse and Chandrashekhar Darade, both from the Local Arms division of the Mumbai Police, as per The Indian Express report. Following the registration of an FIR, both officers were suspended and a departmental inquiry has been initiated.
The victim, identified as Mohammad Arif Faizan Khan (35), runs a small pan and cigarette shop in Andheri West. On June 24, around 4:30 p.m., a car pulled up near his stall, from which four men stepped out. Two of them—Hemant Kapse and Sagar Wagh—introduced themselves as officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They were accompanied by Nitin Gadhave and Chandrashekhar Darande.
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The group accused Khan of selling banned gutkha at his stall and claimed they needed to take him to the FDA office for further questioning. Without allowing any resistance, they forcibly took him into their vehicle.
Inside the car, the accused allegedly intimidated Khan and demanded Rs 3 lakh to "settle the matter." Khan, who only had Rs 10,000 in cash at the time, transferred Rs 30,000 digitally via QR code to an account linked to one of the accused, identified as Akash Waghmare. The group also seized Rs 3,500 in cash from Khan's pocket.
After collecting Rs 43,500, the accused dropped Khan at Cotton Green and even handed him Rs 70 to travel back home. Realising he had been duped, Khan informed his friends and later approached the D.N. Nagar Police Station to file a formal complaint. Acting swiftly, the police launched an investigation and arrested all four accused using CCTV footage and vehicle number identification.
During this investigation, it was confirmed that the accused Hemant Kapse and Sagar Wagh were serving as constables with the Local Arms Unit of Mumbai Police. Upon this revelation, both were immediately suspended. A third accused, Chandrashekhar Darande, was found to be an employee of the Maharashtra Security Force (MSF). All four accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, including kidnapping, extortion, cheating, and misuse of official position.