Ex-Shiv Sena (UBT) neta held for Rs 10 cr extort bid

Former Shiv Sena UBT corporator from Nalasopara Swapnil Bandekar and three associates including a Right to Information RTI activist were arrested on Saturday night by Navghar police for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 10 crore from an SRA builder in WorliInvestigators are probing whether the crime was solely a case of blackmail and extortion or if the accused were also trying to hijack SRA projects by harassing the complainant with numerous RTI applications ldquoWe are exploring this angle because one of the accused in this case is a builderrdquo said an officer involved in the investigationFormer Shiv Sena UBT corporator from Nalasopara Swapnil BandekarThe arrested individuals include Bandekar Himanshu Shaha Nikhil Bolar and Kishore Kajrekar They were caught after the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police set up a trap at a restaurant in Mira Road following a complaint by 34yearold builder Akash Pawan GuptaMore arrests likelySources in the Navghar police said more arrests could follow ldquoOthers too have filed RTI applications to harass the complainant We will verify their roles and call them for questioningrdquo said another officerGupta explained that since March 2024 the accused had been disrupting his three ongoing SRA projects by filing multiple RTI applications in different departmentsThe accused in police custodyRs 10 crore extortion bidInitially the accused demanded Rs 10 crore but later agreed to R15 crore after several rounds of negotiation Gupta allegedldquoWhen I asked why they were filing so many RTI applications one of them Himanshu told me that Bandekar had demanded Rs 10 crore to stop the harassmentrdquo Gupta claimed ldquoHimanshu a Vasaibased builder was negotiating with me Our first meeting took place on October 22 2024 at a coffee shop in Matunga I had to go because they were closely monitoring me and my familyrdquo Gupta recalledldquoAt that meeting I offered R25 lakh to end the harassment but Bandekar got annoyed and asked Himanshu if he had brought his lsquoghodarsquo weapon Terrified I agreed to R3 crore Eventually the deal was settled at R15 crore to be paid in instalmentsrdquo he added The agreement included R25 lakh payments in November and December followed by R10 lakh monthly till October However after Gupta failed to pay in November and December the accused resumed their harassment in JanuaryGupta then agreed to pay the first Rs 25 lakh instalment on January 31 followed by Rs 25 lakh between February 510 and another Rs 25 lakh by February 15 This was decided over a conference call with all the accused he said On January 31 the accused insisted on meeting at Mira Road instead of MumbaiPolice set a trapGupta who had informed Navghar police in advance withdrew Rs 15 lakh from his bank as bait The police marked the currency notes bundled them and sent officers to the restaurant where they occupied tables posing as customersHimanshu arrived first and after seeing the cash he called Bandekar to confirm As soon as he did plainclothes officers swooped in seized the money and detained HimanshuFollowing police instructions Himanshu then called Bandekar who asked him to bring Gupta to Nalasopara instead A police team escorted Guptarsquos car with a constable driving it Before reaching Nalasopara Gupta switched to the driverrsquos seat while police officers disguised as office staff sat in the back to avoid raising suspicionAt Achole in Nalasopara East Kishore arrived first followed by Bandekar and Nikhil 15 minutes later As soon as they entered Guptarsquos car police officers moved in Sensing trouble Nikhil tried to escape but was overpowered after a minor scufflePoliceSpeakZonal Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP Prakash Gaikwad confirmed the arrests ldquoBandekar and his gang had been blackmailing a builder whose project is underway in Worli They were arrested based on his complaintrdquo he saidNavghar police Senior Inspector Dhiraj Koli said ldquoWe have registered an FIR under sections of the BNS and arrested the four accusedrdquo