Mumbai Crime: Lawyer, builder held in extortion case

Advocate Yogesh Jagdale posed as a court commissioner to threaten the complainant

Naya Nagar police on Saturday arrested a lawyer for demanding Rs 55 lakh by threatening a local builder at Mira Road while posing as a court commissioner. They caught Yogesh Jagdale red handed after accepting Rs 10 lakh from complainant Adil Khan. Police have also arrested another builder who is a local politician and was with the lawyer at the time. The other accused has been identified as Munawwar Husain, brother of the former MLC, Muzaffar Husain.

Police said advocate Jagdale posed as a court commissioner and called complainant Khan's friend Amit Damani last week, and sent him three photos, including Khan's on his WhatsApp number. When Damani called Jagdale to ask about the matter, the latter said he was a court commissioner who has the power of an IPS rank officer, and was currently investigating a case given by the court against Khan.

The police said Jagdale told Damani that a rape case registered against Munawwar Hussain last year in the Kashimira police station was fake. He claimed that the woman who accused Hussain had given an affidavit claiming she did so on the saying of Khan.

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On being told about the matter, Khan decided to meet Jagdale. "I meet Jagdale with Damani in my car. Jagdale asked for Rs 55 lakh to save me from the arrest and to defend me in the case. I recorded this conversation in my mobile phone. The matter was later fixed at Rs 20 lakh. I immediately complained about this to the Naya Nagar police who decided to trap the accused. I then went to Damani's office with the amount. Hussain was also present with Jagdale. Jagdale took the money from my hand and when he was counting it, the police arrived and took both of them into their custody. Seeing Hussain with Jagdale, I understood who was behind all this," he added.

Police said Hussain is also a builder and previously Khan and he worked together. But, Khan later completed a project of Hussain that was stalled due to some reason. "The accused have been booked under Sections 384 (punishment for extortion), 386 (extortion), 389 (Putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion), and 170 (personating a public servant) of IPC. They were produced before the court which remanded them in police custody till June 2," said another police officer.

Rs 55L
Amount the advocate demanded from local builder