Pune: RTI activist arrested for ‘extorting Rs 2 crore’ from highway contractor

The complainant in this case works for a company that had got a contract for construction of a road at Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district.

Police checked CCTV visuals from the area where the crime was committed.

A Right to Information (RTI) activist, Dattatraya Phalke (46), has been arrested by Pune City Police’s Crime Branch for allegedly trying to extort Rs 2 crore from a National Highway road contractor.

The complainant in this case works for a company that had got a contract for construction of a road at Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district.

Phalke allegedly questioned the complainant several times about the work being done by his company on the national highway in Ahmednagar. Claiming that the company was doing illegal work, Phalke allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore from the complainant and threatened to file RTI applications against the company if the money was not paid. He allegedly threatened to create hurdles in the highway construction work by filing a petition in the High Court after collecting information under RTI Act.

The contractor filed a complaint against Phalke with Pune City Police’s Anti-Extortion Cell. Police laid a trap and nabbed Phalke while he was accepting an installment of Rs 25 lakh from the complainant on Tuesday.

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