Maharashtra: Navi Mumbai lawyer held for extortion

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Police have arrested a 27-year-old woman lawyer for allegedly taking Rs 12 lakh from a hotelier after threatening action against his establishment in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township, an official said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.

The Navi Mumbai lawyer had warned the 43-year-old man that if he did not pay the money, she would not withdraw a complaint filed against his hotel in Vashi with the local civic body and ensure its closure, he said, reported PTI.

On Wednesday, she accepted Rs 12 lakh from the hotelier at a cafe in Vashi where the Navi Mumbai crime unit sleuths caught her, the official from Vashi police station said, reported PTI.

The police arrested the Navi Mumbai lawyer, resident of Nerul area, and also seized her Aadhaar card, Bar Council ID and visiting cards, he said, reported PTI.

She was booked under Indian Penal Code section 383 (extortion), the police added.

In another case, a man from Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township has been arrested after he allegedly posed as a CBI officer and cheated two persons of Rs 80 lakh under the pretext of helping them obtain land in Kolhapur, police said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

The accused, from Koparkhairne in Navi Mumbai, had worked as a driver with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a contractual basis, reported PTI.

After his contract ended, he posed as an officer of the agency and cheated the two persons, CBD police station's senior inspector Giridhar Gore said, reported PTI.

The accused met the victims, hailing from Kolhapur, at a government office in Navi Mumbai in April 2022 and claimed he could help them get 500 acres of forest land at Hazra in the district, he said, reported PTI.

To gain their confidence, he showed them a no objection certificate (NOC) of the forest department and also fabricated an order of a court in connection with the land, the official said, reported PTI.

The accused took around Rs 80 lakh from the two victims. He neither got them the land as promised nor refunded their money despite repeated reminders, he said.

The victims subsequently approached the police and filed a complaint.

The accused was arrested on Monday and booked under relevant provisions, the police added.

(With inputs from PTI)