Pune: History-sheeter arrested for trying to extort Rs 1 crore from jeweller

The suspect made the alleged extortion call using a phone he had stolen from a Pandharpur-bound Warkari, said the police.

The Pune rural police arrested Saturday a history-sheeter for allegedly trying to extort Rs 1 crore from a jeweller in the Shirur town of Pune district. A probe revealed that the suspect, identified as identified as Rahul Sukhdeo Gaikwad (28), made the alleged extortion call using a phone he had stolen from a Pandharpur-bound Warkari (a devotee on his way to Pandharpur for the Ashadhi Wari pilgrimage), said the police.

According to the police, on July 4, a well-known jewellery shop owner in Shirur received a call from an unidentified person. The caller allegedly said he was calling from “DK Group” and demanded Rs 1 crore. He allegedly threatened to kill the jeweller and his family members if the money was not given.

The jeweller approached the police after which an offence of extortion was registered at the Shirur police station. Considering the gravity of the case, the local crime branch of the Pune rural police launched a parallel probe along with that of the local police station.

An initial investigation revealed that the phone used by the suspect was stolen from a Warkari at Shrigonda in Ahmednagar district and a different SIM card was used to make the call.

A subsequent probe conducted with the help of technical leads and ground-level intelligence gathering revealed that Gaikwad, a resident of Parner in Ahmednagar, had made the extortion call to the jeweller.

On Saturday, the local crime branch laid down a trap in the Lohegaon area of Pune, where according to a tip-off from informants, Gaikwad was currently staying and arrested him. An official said that the accused, prima facie, operated alone and did not have any link to any group called DK Group. The officials believe that he used the name to threaten the complainant.

The police said Gaikwad has nine cases registered against him, including those of murder, cheating and physical assault registered in Pune and Ahmednagar jurisdictions at Shikrapur, Supa, Parner and Shrigonda police stations.

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