5 arrested for blackmailing Sassoon employee

The Anti Extortion Cell of the Pune police crime branch on Friday nabbed a gang of five youths who allegedly blackmailed a clerk at Sassoon general hospital and demanded Rs 25 lakh from him.

The suspects have been identified as Rizwan Chand Alure (27),Wasim Hanif Shaikh (20),both residents of Ghorpadi gaon,Altaf Fattu Shaikh (30),Bablu Fattu Shaikh (22),both from Laxmi Nagar,Parvati and Shahid Shamshuddin Shaikh (21) of Keshav Nagar,Mundhwa. Pravin Vasantrao Gaikwad,a clerk at the Sassoon hospital has lodged a police complaint in the case. Police said that Gaikwad works with the birth – death registration office at the Sassoon hospital. About two months back he was working at the registration section of the Kasba Peth ward office where he came in contact with Rizwan Alure,who wanted to obtain the birth proofs of his relative. Gaikwad told Rizwan that he would need an affidavit from a lawyer for this purpose. Rizwan gave Rs 2,000 to Gaikwad to arrange for a lawyer and get the necessary documents ready.

However,while Gaikwad accepted the money,Rizwan and his accomplices captured the incident on their mobile phone. They then started blackmailing him. The suspects told Gaikwad that they had captured him on video while accepting bribe and demanded Rs 25 lakh. Gaikwad then approached the police. The anti extortion team led by inspector Kishor Jadhav,assistant inspectors Chandrakant Thakur and Sunil Shinde then nabbed the suspects at Sassoon hospital on Friday afternoon.