Extortionist, wife busted

Mumbai: The anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the Thane police caught red-handed a private detective and his wife from their rented house in Dombivali while accepting Rs 1 crore “in extortion money” from a decoy courier, who was actually a policeman, of a suspended IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar.

According to police, the couple, arrested on Thursday, had threatened to defame Mopalwar using phone call recordings of his, which were in their possession, and demanded Rs 10 crore from him to keep quiet and retract allegations of corruption against him. Mopalwar had alerted the police about the threats.

The accused have been identified as Satish Mangle, his wife Shraddha and their acquaintance Anil Vedmehta.

In August, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had removed Mopalwar as the vice-chairman and managing director of the Maharash-tra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), following a row over audio clips, in which the official was purportedly heard fixing a deal for a plot. The investigators said that Mangle had floated the audio clip and shared it with a news channel. They had been pursuing the matter by complaining against Mopalwar in various government offices.

Mangle established contact with Mopalwar via a common contact, Kling Mishra, and sought for a meeting with him near the Kharegaon toll plaza, on the outskirts of Mumbai, on October 23. He also allegedly threatened to harm Mopalwar and his daughter if the money was not paid.

Mangle offered Mishra to retract complaints filed by him against Mopalwar and also to return the audio clip if he was paid Rs 10 crore. The amount was finally negotiated to Rs 7 crore. Soon after a complaint was registered with the Thane police, they sent a decoy with the money and Mangle was arrested after accepting it. “We will question Mangle on his activities,” said Param Bir Singh, Thane police commissioner.

The officials have also seized two laptops, five cell phones, 4 pen drives, 15 compact discs and several incriminating documents from Mangle’s residence. A case of extortion has been registered against Mangle and others and they have been remanded in police custody for further investigation.

A statement issued by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) stated, “It should be noted that Mangle, who had many cases of rape, extortion and CDR registered against him, had run a campaign to defame Mopalwar since past 14 months. In an attempt to extort money, Mangle had also levelled serious personal allegations against Mopalwar who was given the responsibility of the proposed Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg.”

Shady past

The Thane City police claimed Mangle has cases of sexual assault and under the provisions of the Information Technology Act registered with the police. Mangle, who had completed his secondary schooling, left his computer diploma incomplete and started a private detective agency. The police claimed he is into recording phone conversations and blackmail.