Bhosari MLA Landge, former corporator Bagwe get death threats, extortion call
According to information, cases against unknown persons were filed in this regard at the Bhosari and Samarth police stations respectively
Pune:
In two separate incidents, Mahesh Landge, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bhosari constituency and Avinash Bagwe, a former corporator from Pune, allegedly received a threat from an unknown person demanding ₹30 lakh from each of them on Tuesday. While Landge, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA got a text message from the miscreant, former Congress party corporator Bagwe received a phone call from the perpetrator.
According to information, cases against unknown persons were filed in this regard at the Bhosari and Samarth police stations respectively.
According to Bhaskar Jadhav, senior police inspector (SPI) at Bhosari police station, Landge recently launched the Parivartan Helpline service to provide people with various types of assistance. According to police, on Tuesday evening, an unknown person sent a message to the helpline number demanding ₹30 lakh from Landge and threatening to kill him.
Earlier on the same day, Bagwe, a former Congress corporator and the son of former minister Ramesh Bagwe, allegedly received a threat call from an unknown number demanding ₹30 lakh from him.
Bagwe went to the police station and filed a complaint. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, while Bagwe was at his home in Bhavani Peth.
In his complaint, he stated that on Tuesday, he received a phone call from an unknown number that threatened to kill him with a pistol.
The caller stated that his seven accomplices are keeping a watch on Bagwe and if he were to inform the police, they will hurt him. The caller also demanded ₹30 lakh ransom and threatened Bagwe not to contest any elections in the future.
According to the police, the caller shared account information and demanded that ₹10 lakh be transferred immediately, with the remaining ₹20 lakh being kept in an Innova car parked in Kharadi near Eon IT Park.
The unidentified perpetrator also threatened to kill him if he did not comply, citing the presence of his people outside Bagwe’s office and residence.
Pratap Mankar, Senior Police Inspector (SPI) at Anti Extortion Squad said, “We have registered a case and an investigation is going on. We are attempting to establish links with previous incidents in which the accused employed the same modus operandi.
’’A case has been registered at Samarth Police Station under Indian Penal Code sections 387 (Whoever to the committing of extortion, attempts to put any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt) and 507 (Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation) and further investigation is underway.
