Ex-corporator’s sons booked for trying to extort ₹75 lakh from businessman

MUMBAI: Two sons of a former municipal councilor of Vasai-Virar were booked on Thursday for allegedly threatening a businessman from Kandivali and demanding an extortion sum of ₹75 lakh to hand over his flat to him.

According to the police, the complainant, Vishnu Basudev Bajaj, 55, a resident of Charkop in Kandivali, had rented the flat in Pawan Paradise Co-operative Housing Society in Achole, Vasai East to the accused Amit Shyam Pendhari in 2021.

Pendhari approached them on Thursday claiming that on Wednesday at 3.30pm Pendhari along with his brother Mithun and accomplices Suraj Laad and Jay Jaichura barged into his house and threatened him.

Bajaj told the police that since 2021 Pendhari, son of former corporator Jaya Pendhari, had taken over his flat illegally and had not paid any rent to him. He said that the men had threatened to kill him, if he reported the matter to the police, and demanded ₹75 lakh if he wanted possession of his flat back.

“We have not arrested anyone yet. We are verifying the complaint, and collecting evidence against the accused,” said a senior officer of the Vasai police station. The Pendhari brothers and their accomplices are booked under sections 385 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) , and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.