Anti-Extortion Cell officer extorts money from businessman

To help a retired police officer, the senior inspector allegedly threatens to kill the businessman in a fake encounter

Rajkumar Kothmire, the senior inspector at the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell

A senior inspector with the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell allegedly turned into an extortionist himself to help a retired police officer. A businessman accused Rajkumar Kothmire of threatening to kill him in a fake encounter over monetary disputes with Mahadev Kakde, who retired as police inspector in 2018.

Afsar Idris Khan, a 34-year-old resident of Thane, who is in the business of selling second hand truck-motorcars, met Mahadev and his son Kiran Kakde in January 2018. The Kakades told Khan that they have a side business of buying and selling old trucks and cars. In March, 2018, they sealed a deal to sell old trailers and the Kakdes transferred Rs 72 lakh to Khan for the business.

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Over time, Khan returned Rs 57 lakh via bank transfer and the rest in cash, but the Kakdes claimed they never received the remaining amount. Sometime later, Kakdes bought a trailer for Rs 14 lakh from one Sandeep Kandilkar, through Khan. Kandilkar fled after receiving the payment. Mahadev asked Khan to recover the loss and threatened to implicate him in a false case.

Then, in October 2019, Kothmire called Khan to the police station and allegedly brandished his service revolver and asked him to pay the Kakdes. Khan told mid-day, "I told the police that I have transferred the money to Kandilkar's bank account on Kiran's approval, so how am I accountable for the loss? Rajkumar is putting pressure on me and that's why I wrote [on february 4] a complaint to the Thane additional commissioner of police (crime)."

Kothmire said, "I will not say anything, I am doing my duty." Mahadev said, "I have made several written complaints against Khan. He has not returned my money."

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