In a swift operation on July 3, 2024, the Thane Anti-Extortion Squad successfully apprehended two people for attempting to extort Rs. 50,000 from a local builder in Mumbra. The accused, Govardhan Hanuman Patil (41) and Ganesh Sudhakar Shimpi alias Sunny (40), were caught red-handed while accepting Rs. 30,000 from the complainant, Ganpat Mhatre. The duo had threatened to file a complaint against the builder with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) if he did not pay them the money.
This arrest highlights the ongoing efforts of the Thane Police to combat extortion in the rapidly developing real estate sector of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The complainant, Mhatre, a resident of Dativali, Thane, filed a report on June 28, 2024, stating that Patil, a real estate agent and Sunny, a civil contractor from Dombivli were threatening to file a complaint with the Thane Municipal Corporation against his ongoing construction project in the Mumbradevi area. They demanded Rs. 50,000 to withhold the complaint and, in a chilling escalation, threatened to kill Mhatre if he failed to pay the amount.
Fearing for his safety, Mhatre initially paid Rs. 20,000 to the accused. However, Patil continued to demand the remaining Rs. 30,000, prompting Mhatre to approach the police. The operation was led by Senior Police Inspector Maloji Shinde under the guidance of senior officials, including Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre and Deputy Commissioner of Crime Shivraj Patil. The Anti-Extortion Squad set up a trap. On July 3, at around 1:50 PM near the Diva Prabhag Samiti office in Khardi village, Thane, the accused were caught accepting Rs. 30,000 from Mhatre.
A case has been registered at Shil Daighar Police Station under sections 308 (2), 308 (3), 308 (4), 308 (5) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).The accused have been remanded to police custody until July 9, 2024. The Thane Police Commissioner's office has appealed to residents of Thane, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, and Badlapur to report any similar extortion attempts to the Anti-Extortion Squad immediately.