The Free Press Journal

Extortion: Police head constable, aide held

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A police head constable and his aide, who posed as a Crime Branch officer, were arrested for allegedly extorting money from drug peddlers, an official said on Tuesday.

Acting on a specific tip-off, unit 12 of the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Vitthal Dahibaonka­r (52), the head constable and his associate Lakhan Mandal (24) on Monday from the Western Express Highway in suburban Goregaon, he said.

Dahibaonka­r, a resident of suburban Santa Cruz, is posted at the Local Arms Division in Worli, while his aide Mandal is an autoricksh­aw driver.

Mandal posed as a Crime Branch officer and helped Dahibaonka­r in extorting money from their targets, the official said.

They were apprehende­d when they came to extort money from a drug supplier on the pretext of not registerin­g an offence against him, the official said.

Both the accused used to follow Nigerian drug peddlers and drug suppliers in an autoricksh­aw, he said, explaining their modus operandi.

In one such case, the duo caught a person and demanded Rs 15 lakh in extortion money and later settled for Rs 3 lakh, he said.

The person subsequent­ly filed a complaint at the Dindoshi Police Station.

With the help of CCTV footage, the police traced the autoricksh­aw used in the crime and nabbed the duo, the official said.

During investigat­ion, it came to light that the accused used the same modus operandi to extort money from others also, he said.

Both the accused used to follow Nigerian drug peddlers and drug suppliers in an autoricksh­aw as their modus operandi. In one such case, the duo caught a person and demanded Rs 15 lakh in extortion money and later settled for Rs 3 lakh

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