Four arrested for bid to extort Rs 50 lakh from former councillor in Thane

The accused had earlier been involved in dacoity, drug-related and other criminal cases, the police said. Representational pic

Four people have been arrested in Thane for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 50 lakh from a former councillor after blackmailing him, officers said on Monday.

According to news agency PTI, the complainant is a former councillor from the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council. He had received an objectionable photograph of himself with a woman. The sender of the message allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh from him to not make the photo viral, a police release said.

Last month, the former councillor approached the police, following which they worked on various leads and arrested a 32-year-old man from Badlapur area in Thane on March 15, the release further stated.

Based on his interrogation, the police subsequently arrested three of his associates, PTI reported.

The accused had earlier been involved in dacoity, drug-related and other criminal cases, the police added.

Thane court acquits three men in extortion and murder conspiracy case

A court in Thane has acquitted three men accused of attempting to extorty money and conspiring to murder a man, citing lack of substantial evidence to support the charges. According to PTI, Principal District and Sessions Judge SB Agrawal passed the order on March 4, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. A copy of the order was made available last week.

As per PTI, the prosecution alleged that the accused, identified as Mohmmed Arafat alias Guddu alias Sayko alias Chikna Arif Lokhandwala and Javed Umardin Mansoori, both aged 40, and Shakir Umardin Mansoori, 46, all residents of Shanti Nagar in the Mira Road area of Maharashtra's Thane district, conspired to extort Rs 25 lakh from the complainant. The alleged conspiracy took place between December 5, 2021, and March 20, 2022.

The prosecution claimed that the accused had been closely monitoring the complainant's movements, gathering details about his residence, office, and vehicle, and sharing the information with their associates via WhatsApp. They also allegedly received two pistols and live cartridges as part of the plot. However, the police's Anti-Extortion Cell apprehended them before the plan could be carried out, according to PTI reports.

During the trial, the defence counsel challenged the prosecution's version, highlighting inconsistencies and questioning the credibility of the evidence. The court observed that the forensic reports failed to establish the involvement of the accused in the crime. The video footage and photographs presented by the prosecution did not clearly identify the accused, nor was there any conclusive proof that they had contacted the complainant directly to demand the extortion money.

Furthermore, the court noted that the prosecution was unable to establish ownership or usage of the seized documents, SIM cards, and USB drives by the accused. The court stated that there was no direct evidence linking the accused to the extortion attempt or the alleged conspiracy to commit murder.

As a result, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges. Consequently, the court acquitted all three accused - Lokhandwala, Shakir Mansoori, and Javed Mansoori - of the charges of extortion and criminal conspiracy.

(With PTI inputs)