Maharashtra Man Poses as BJP Leader’s Personal Assistant to Extort Money from a Doctor, Arrested

The accused asked the doctor to donate Rs 25 lakh for welfare of poor people who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic

A 42-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly trying to extort Rs 25 lakh from a doctor in Pimpri-Chinchwad town by posing as a personal assistant to Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil, police said. Saurabh Santosh Ashtul allegedly called up the complainant, who is a doctor with a reputed hospital, on July 18 and posed as Patil’s personal assistant, an official said.

The accused asked the doctor to donate Rs 25 lakh for welfare of poor people who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and threatened of dire consequences if he failed to hand over the money to a party worker, he said.

Following the threat, the complainant spoke to the BJP leader and on realising that someone had falsely impersonated Patil’s staff, he lodged a complaint at Nigdi police station,he said.

“During the investigation, we zeroed in on Ashtul and arrested him under section 387 (putting person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) and other relevant provisions of the IPC,” the officer added.