Three, including a woman, held for conning BJP leader

The accused demanded Rs 10 cr from the corporator on the pretext of offering him a ticket as Member of Legislative Assembly

The Thane crime branch have arrested three persons, including a woman, for demanding Rs 10 crore from a BJP Corporator Manohar Jaisingh Dumbare from Thane on the pretext of offering him a ticket as a Member of Legislative Assembly.

The arrested were identified as Anood Sajjad Shirgaonkar (29), Anil Kumar Shankarlal Bhanushali (31) and Abdul Sayyad Fayyaz Ansari (24). They have been arrested for cheating by personation (Section 419), cheating (Section 420), forgery ( Section 465), forgery for purpose of cheating (Section 468), using a forged document as genuine(Section 471), criminal conspiracy (Section 120 (B)) of the Indian Penal Code.

Shirgaonkar, who was known to Corporator Dumbare, promised him that she would get him access to the Legislative Assembly in July 2018 since she had close contacts with the chief minister. As per the instructions of Shirgaonkar, Bhanushali mimicked the voice of the chief minister over the phone to take Dumbare into confidence. Later, they asked Dumbare to pay Rs. 10 crore in three instalments. The first instalment of Rs 25 lakh was to be given at Tulsi Hotel at Patlipada, Thane.

According to Mukund Hatote, Assistant Commissioner of Police, “The accused were arrested from Tulsi Hotel at Patlipada at Ghodbunder road while accepting cash of Rs 25 lakh. We have seized fake documents from the lady Shirgaonkar with fake seal of the National Investigation Agency and fake letter heads of Chief Minister’s office.”

A resident of Reti Bunder at Hiding Wadi at Kalyan, Shirgaonkar was running a private Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). She is a standard ten dropout. Bhanushali and Ansari are unemployed.

Bhanushali is a resident of Farm Co-operative Housing Society at Sector 11, Koparkhairane while Ansari is a resident of Pune.