Maharashtra: Man held for extorting money from childhood friend

A man from Maharashtra*s Nanded has been arrested for allegedly extorting Rs 48 lakh from his childhood friend and threatening to kill him if he didn*t pay more, an official said on Thursday.

Complainant Satyaprakash Arya from Thane district was on a pilgrimage to Gujarat in December last year when his car hit a motorcyclist, injuring him, said the official.

As Arya got in touch with his childhood friend Prashant Savnekar from Nanded for help, the latter said he would take care of everything and that he should go ahead with his trip, the official said.

A few days later, Savnekar called up Arya saying the biker was serious and his family needed money for his treatment. Over a period of time, he collected nearly Rs 48 lakh from Arya, the official said.

Also Read: Mumbai: Fashion designer held for threatening, offering money to Amruta Fadnavis

Savnekar then demanded Rs 5 crore from Arya saying the man had died and he had to ¿manage¿ the family. When Arya expressed his inability to pay such a huge sum, the accused threatened to kill him, the official said.

On a complaint by Arya, the accused was arrested on March 13, he said.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever