Youth held for extortion call

A 25-year-old youth was arrested on Sunday for allegedly trying to extort Rs 20 lakh from a hotel owner in Shivajinagar. Police said the suspect,Bhalchandra Vishwanath Palnitkar,had threatened to kill the hotel owner’s daughter if he failed to pay up.

Palnitkar hails from Alibag in Raigad district,and was working at a restaurant in Lonavala. He was arrested based on the complaint by the hotel owner with whom he was previously employed with.

Assistant Inspector Pramod Waghmare of Shivajinagar police said,“Palnitkar told us that he needed money to repay his debt and resorted to making extortion calls to the complainant. He purchased a new SIM and sent messages threatening to kill the complainant’s daughter if the money was not paid.” A Pune court remanded him to police custody till Wednesday.