Private detective acquitted of extorting IAS officer

MUMBAI: The special MCOCA court on Wednesday acquitted a private detective and two others arrested six years back for allegedly demanding ₹7 crore from senior IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar.

The court gave a benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted Satish Mangle, his wife Shraddha Mangle, and their purported associate Atul Tambe, who were hired by Mopalwar to assist in his fight for divorce from his wife.

The court said that the prosecution failed to prove their claims that the accused and the IAS officer had met three times, during which allegedly, money was demanded and exchanged for not sharing videos and audio recordings of Mopalwar.

According to the prosecution case, Mopalwar was posted as vice president and managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) when he met Mangle, who owned Shirley Detective Agency, through a common friend. Mopalwar had sought the detective’s assistance in his legal fight for divorce from his wife.

However, allegedly soon Mangle had started demanding money from Mopalwar. The prosecution alleged that Mangle had gathered several videos and audio tapes against the IAS officer. He allegedly gave some of them to news channels and then began blackmailing the IAS officer.

The prosecution claimed that the Mangle couple began threatening to defame Mopalwar with the video and audio recordings, if he failed to give them ₹7 crore. It was alleged that it was during discussions over the demand for money and its payment that there were three meetings between the trio and the IAS officer.

It was alleged that during these meetings, Mangle had first demanded ₹10 crore and later, settled for ₹7 crore. The prosecution claimed that the three were arrested while accepting a part of the payment at a famous seven-star hotel in Juhu.

The court, however, discarded the prosecution case and observed that the prosecution had failed to establish the three meetings and the alleged call recordings, which were at the center of the controversy.

On Wednesday, while pronouncing the verdict the court said the prosecution had claimed that there were three meetings between Mopalwar and Mangle in which the demand of ₹10 crore was discussed.

The first meeting was held on October 23, 2017, at Kharegaon Toll Naka, on Nasik Highway, the second meeting was held at Shangrila Resort wherein the conversation in which Mangle allegedly demanded ₹10 crore was recorded by Mopalwar. It was claimed that Mangle agreed to accept installments of ₹1 crore on November 2, 2017, and ₹3 crore on November 21, 2017. Mopalwar later approached the Thane police and lodged a complaint against the Mangles and their associate.

While acquitting the three, the court observed that, “There were doubts created about the first meeting on whether the first informant was present there. The call data record showed he was not present,” the court said.

Besides, the court said, for the meeting held at the resort, the CCTV footage was submitted but it did not reflect what discussion or conversation took place and hence, the court discarded the video recording done by Mopalwar.

For the meeting held at the seven-star hotel, the court said the spy camera used by Mopalwar was never seized and submitted before the court in a prescribed manner because of which it created doubts and therefore discarded the evidence as inadmissible.

The court, hence, gave a benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted them.