Two arrested for attempt to extort businessman

The anti-extortion cell has arrested two youngsters for allegedly attempting to extort money from a Ghatkopar businessman. The duo got the idea from television series Crime Patrol, which is telecast on Sony TV. The main accused told the police that he had taken such a step to get money for his father’s operation.

Youngsters Santosh Prakash Khanvilkar and Sushant Bait targeted a businessman from Ghatkopar. “The complainant has his own business related to import-export of marble and tiles. Father of the main accused, Khanvilkar, runs a mess in Ghatkopar where a clerk from the businessman’s office would eat food. A few days ago, when the clerk came late for lunch, Khanvilkar’s father asked him the reason, to which he replied that he was busy after sales tax officers raided their office. Khanvilkar started jotting down details related to the businessman which he came to know from the clerk. He dug out all information about his business and family background to harass him,” said a police official.

“Khanvilkar was inspired by one of the episodes of Crime Patrol. He bought a second-hand phone from CST and a SIM card from a mobile thief and started sending messages to the businessman. He threatened the businessman that he would inform the CBI about his ‘frauds’ and they would arrest him. He would send pictures of the businessman’s family members to him and threaten to kill them. Later, he even sent a pen drive where he added photos of a gun, the businessman’s father and kids. Khanvilkar’s voice is high-pitched so he requested Bait to speak to the victim, who was asked to meet the accused with Rs 2 crore,” said the official.

The businessman informed police about the same. DCP Crime Branch Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “We told him to keep in touch with the accused. We laid a trap and arrested the two accused when they called the businessman in Ghatkopar for the payment they had asked. When we grilled Khanvilkar, he told us he got the businessman’s family photographs from Facebook and WhatsApp. He said his father is suffering from slip disc, which is why he decided to extort money from the businessman.”