The Navi Mumbai Police in Maharashtra have arrested a man for allegedly extorting Rs 1 lakh from a hotelier in the city, an official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.
The police are on the lookout for a woman, who was also allegedly involved in the offence, he said.
According to the PTI, as per the complaint filed by the victim, the suspect identified as 37-year-old Sandeep Raskar, who is a resident of Pune, and the woman initially demanded Rs 2 lakh for allowing him to operate an orchestra bar, threatening that he would be implicated in a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the police official said.
Later, the accused agreed to bring down the amount to Rs 1 lakh and the woman accepted Rs 25,000 from the victim. On Wednesday, when the other accused was accepting Rs 75,000, the police nabbed him, an official said, as per the PTI.
Based on a complaint, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 384 (extortion) and others was registered in this connection, he said.
Sandeep Raskar was reportedly earlier booked under extortion charges by the Pune Police along with two others in January 2024, the police said.
PMC`s crackdown on illegal structures at pubs and bars continues
Meanwhile, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in Maharashtra continued its crackdown on unauthorised structures at pubs and bars in the city for the second day on Wednesday, officials said, reported the PTI.
The action comes in the wake of alleged consumption of drugs at a local bar, the officials said.
According to the PTI, as part of the action, the officials of the PMC`s building department demolished illegal structures of some prominent bars, including Eskobar and FML Resto Bar in Baner during the day, they said, the news agency reported.
Following timing-related violations at Liquid Leisure Lounge (L3) bar on Pune`s Fergusson College Road and alleged drug use at the establishment, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had instructed to run a bulldozer on the unauthorised structures linked to the narcotic substance.
Accordingly, the PMC has been taking action against the unauthorised structures of bars and pubs.
(with PTI inputs)