News Analysis India

Tag: extortion

  • UP govt opposes Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj Uni VC’s plea in HC challenging FIR against him

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has opposed the plea filed by the vice-chancellor of Kanpur’s Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court challenging the FIR lodged against him on charges of corruption and extortion.

    After hearing the arguments of the parties at length, a bench of Justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and V K Singh reserved its order till Thursday.

    Vice-Chancellor Professor Vinay Pathak pleaded that he cannot be arrested without prosecution sanction in a corruption case.

    It was submitted on behalf of the state government and the complainant that since the FIR prima facie disclosed commission of serious offences, it cannot be quashed and Pathak cannot be granted relief from arrest.

    Pathak had on Tuesday moved the high court challenging the FIR lodged against him.

    On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) registered the FIR against Pathak and Ajay Mishra, the owner of XLICT company, on charges of corruption and extortion and began its probe.

    The FIR was registered at Indira Nagar police station based on an October 29 complaint by one David Mario Denis under IPC sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 386 (extortion), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

    Denis alleged that he had paid about Rs 1.31 crore to Pathak via Mishra for clearance of payment for Digitex Technologic India Pvt Ltd, which was engaged in pre- and post-examination work at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra where Pathak was officiating vice-chancellor from January to September this year.

    Mishra, whose firm is also involved in the same work, was arrested on Sunday.

    Denis also alleged that the vice-chancellor demanded a 15 per cent commission, threatened him and stopped his firm from getting contracts in any universities using his contacts.

    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has opposed the plea filed by the vice-chancellor of Kanpur’s Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court challenging the FIR lodged against him on charges of corruption and extortion.

    After hearing the arguments of the parties at length, a bench of Justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and V K Singh reserved its order till Thursday.

    Vice-Chancellor Professor Vinay Pathak pleaded that he cannot be arrested without prosecution sanction in a corruption case.

    It was submitted on behalf of the state government and the complainant that since the FIR prima facie disclosed commission of serious offences, it cannot be quashed and Pathak cannot be granted relief from arrest.

    Pathak had on Tuesday moved the high court challenging the FIR lodged against him.

    On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) registered the FIR against Pathak and Ajay Mishra, the owner of XLICT company, on charges of corruption and extortion and began its probe.

    The FIR was registered at Indira Nagar police station based on an October 29 complaint by one David Mario Denis under IPC sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 386 (extortion), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

    Denis alleged that he had paid about Rs 1.31 crore to Pathak via Mishra for clearance of payment for Digitex Technologic India Pvt Ltd, which was engaged in pre- and post-examination work at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra where Pathak was officiating vice-chancellor from January to September this year.

    Mishra, whose firm is also involved in the same work, was arrested on Sunday.

    Denis also alleged that the vice-chancellor demanded a 15 per cent commission, threatened him and stopped his firm from getting contracts in any universities using his contacts.

  • Four booked in attempt to extort Rs 5 lakh, threatened to circulate man’s daughter obscene photos in MP

    By PTI

    INDORE: A case has been registered against four persons who allegedly attempted to extort Rs 5 lakh from a man in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district by threatening to circulate obscene photographs of his daughter, police said on Saturday.

    The main accused and his accomplices, all residents of Piploda village, allegedly showed the complainant obscene photos and videos of his daughter on Friday evening, Kanadiya police station in-charge Jagdish Prasad Jamra said.

    The accused allegedly threatened to make the photos and videos viral and demanded Rs 5 lakh from the complainant, he said.

    Shaken by the threat, the man approached Kanadiya police station and lodged a complaint, he said.

    The main accused and his accomplices fled the village after they found out about the police complaint and a manhunt has been launched for them, the official said, adding that a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act has been registered.

    INDORE: A case has been registered against four persons who allegedly attempted to extort Rs 5 lakh from a man in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district by threatening to circulate obscene photographs of his daughter, police said on Saturday.

    The main accused and his accomplices, all residents of Piploda village, allegedly showed the complainant obscene photos and videos of his daughter on Friday evening, Kanadiya police station in-charge Jagdish Prasad Jamra said.

    The accused allegedly threatened to make the photos and videos viral and demanded Rs 5 lakh from the complainant, he said.

    Shaken by the threat, the man approached Kanadiya police station and lodged a complaint, he said.

    The main accused and his accomplices fled the village after they found out about the police complaint and a manhunt has been launched for them, the official said, adding that a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act has been registered.

  • Ricky Martin sues nephew, alleges million-dollar losses

    By Associated Press

    SAN JUAN: Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his nephew that accused him of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of law and damages — stemming from false allegations of sexual abuse.

    Martin’s lawyers said the claim by the nephew, which he has since recanted, has cost the singer millions of dollars in lost income.

    The lawsuit filed in the U.S. territory’s Court of First Instance alleges that Martin has been “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted” by his “troubled” nephew for economic reasons. It further alleges that if the nephew doesn’t obtain any financial benefit, he would continue to “assassinate the reputation and integrity of the artist.”

    The lawsuit contends the harassment has continued even though Martin’s nephew, identified as Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, admitted under oath in July that he had never been sexually assaulted by the artist.

    Sánchez had previously taken legal action against his uncle based on those false allegations, which prompted a judge in Puerto Rico to issue a restraining order against Martin in July that a court later suspended.

    Those allegations cost Martin at least $10 million in lost income as a result of canceled contracts and projects as well as $20 million in damages to his reputation, according to the lawsuit.

    The attorney who represented Sánchez in that case couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. It wasn’t clear if she also would be representing Sánchez in the lawsuit filed Wednesday.

    The lawsuit stated that from October 2021 to January 2022, Sánchez would send up to 10 messages a day to Martin, the majority of them “meaningless diatribes without any particular purpose.”

    It also accused Sánchez of publishing Martin’s private number on Instagram, which forced the singer to change his number.

    Several months then went by without Sánchez sending a message until he requested the protection order in July against Martin, according to the lawsuit.

    It also said Sánchez falsely alleged that he had had a romantic relationship with Martin for seven months and that Martin supposedly didn’t want the relationship to end and kept calling Sánchez with frequency.

    “Nothing further from the truth,” according to the lawsuit. It also said two restraining orders had previously been filed against Sánchez in an unrelated stalking case.

    SAN JUAN: Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his nephew that accused him of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of law and damages — stemming from false allegations of sexual abuse.

    Martin’s lawyers said the claim by the nephew, which he has since recanted, has cost the singer millions of dollars in lost income.

    The lawsuit filed in the U.S. territory’s Court of First Instance alleges that Martin has been “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted” by his “troubled” nephew for economic reasons. It further alleges that if the nephew doesn’t obtain any financial benefit, he would continue to “assassinate the reputation and integrity of the artist.”

    The lawsuit contends the harassment has continued even though Martin’s nephew, identified as Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, admitted under oath in July that he had never been sexually assaulted by the artist.

    Sánchez had previously taken legal action against his uncle based on those false allegations, which prompted a judge in Puerto Rico to issue a restraining order against Martin in July that a court later suspended.

    Those allegations cost Martin at least $10 million in lost income as a result of canceled contracts and projects as well as $20 million in damages to his reputation, according to the lawsuit.

    The attorney who represented Sánchez in that case couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. It wasn’t clear if she also would be representing Sánchez in the lawsuit filed Wednesday.

    The lawsuit stated that from October 2021 to January 2022, Sánchez would send up to 10 messages a day to Martin, the majority of them “meaningless diatribes without any particular purpose.”

    It also accused Sánchez of publishing Martin’s private number on Instagram, which forced the singer to change his number.

    Several months then went by without Sánchez sending a message until he requested the protection order in July against Martin, according to the lawsuit.

    It also said Sánchez falsely alleged that he had had a romantic relationship with Martin for seven months and that Martin supposedly didn’t want the relationship to end and kept calling Sánchez with frequency.

    “Nothing further from the truth,” according to the lawsuit. It also said two restraining orders had previously been filed against Sánchez in an unrelated stalking case.

  • Karan Johar was on Bishnoi gang’s target list for extortion, ‘claims’ arrested gang member

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Siddhesh Kamble alias Mahakal, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has told investigators that Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar was on the list of persons whom the gang planned to target for extortion, a police official said on Saturday.

    But a senior official also warned that these claims have not been verified yet, and there was a possibility that there was an element of bragging in Kamble’s statements. Kamble was a close aide of Santosh Jadhav, a suspected shooter in the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case, and well aware of the murder conspiracy, a police official said.

    While Kamble is in the custody of Pune rural police for an earlier case registered in the district, teams of Delhi Police’s Special Cell, Punjab Police and Mumbai Crime branch have questioned him in connection with the Moosewala murder and a threat letter received by Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan earlier this month.

    In his statements before the investigating teams, Kamble disclosed a lot of information about the Moosewala murder conspiracy and named Santosh Jadhav and one Nagnath Suryavanshi as having been involved in the killing, the official told PTI.

    He also provided information about future plans of the Bishnoi gang, which is suspected to be behind Moosewala’s killing, the official said.

    ALSO READ | Moosewala murder: Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s associate arrested from Bihar

    The gang had allegedly planned to extort Rs 5 crore from Johar by threatening him, he said. As per Kamble’s statement, Vikram Brar, brother of Canada-based gangster Goldie Brar, had discussed these plans with him on Instagram and Signal apps.

    A woman involved in drug trafficking and a doctor who had allegedly desecrated a holy book of the Sikh community were also on the target list, the official said. Investigating agencies are still verifying Kamble’s claims, he added.

    Jadhav and his aide Navnath Suryavanshi were arrested by Pune rural police from Bhuj in Gujarat earlier this week. After Moosewala’s murder in May, the Bishnoi gang was trying to take advantage of the sensation it had caused, and had decided to threaten Bollywood celebrities, the official claimed. Threatening Salman Khan for extortion was part of this plan, hatched by Vikram Brar, he said.

    Police had earlier claimed, citing information given by Kamble, that Vikram Brar had sent three members of the Bishnoi gang to Mumbai to deliver the threat letter to Salman Khan. But a senior official of Pune rural police cautioned that they were still verifying Kamble’s claim about Karan Johar being a target for extortion.

    “With some accused, there is an element of bragging in their confessions. The motive behind bragging is to gain publicity and get bigger extortion amounts. This phenomenon is common in Punjab and other neighbouring states. They (gangsters) want their names to get associated with high-profile cases,” said the officer.

    Five gangsters have taken responsibility for the Moosewala murder, but none of them was present on the spot when the crime took place on May 29 in Punjab’s Mansa district, he said. “Mahakal is a small fish. Vikram Brar told him about Karan Johar. Why Brar told this to Mahakal, who is just a foot soldier? Because Brar wants to increase his clout and impress youths like Mahakal,” he added.

  • Param Bir Singh extortion case: Two cops remanded in Maharashtra CID custody for seven days

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A Mumbai court on Tuesday remanded two police officers in the custody of the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID) custody for seven days in connection with an extortion case registered at Marine Drive police station here against them and former city police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

    The two cops – inspectors Nandkumar Gopale and Asha Korke – who were previously posted in the Mumbai crime branch, were arrested by the CID on Monday. Gopale was currently posted at the Khandala police training centre, and Korke in the Naigaon local arms unit.

    The duo was arrested following a complaint filed by real estate developer Shyamsunder Agrawal at the Marine Drive police station on July 22 this year on the charge of extortion. On Tuesday, the two accused were produced before additional chief metropolitan magistrate RM Nerlikar.

    The court remanded them in the CID’s custody for further probe into the case. The FIR names Param Bir Singh and seven others, including five police officers. Besides Korke and Gopale, the other police officers named in the FIR are DCP (Detection-I) Akbar Pathan, ACP Shrikant Shinde and ACP Sanjay Patil.

    During the investigation into the case, police had arrested Agarwal’s former business partner Sanjay Punamia and his associate Sunil Jain.

    The CID was also entrusted with the investigation of a case registered against Shyamsunder Agrawal under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) at Juhu police station for his alleged links with underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel.

    Agrawal had alleged that based on this “false” case, Param Bir Singh and other police officers extorted money from him at the behest of his former business partner Sanjay Punamiya, as per the FIR.

  • Mumbai: MCOCA slapped on millionaire hawker accused of extortion; properties attached

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The GRP here has invoked the stringent MCOCA against a millionaire hawker accused of extortion, his wife and six other associates, and attached many of his properties, a police official said on Sunday.

    The accused, Santosh Kumar Singh alias Bablu Thakur, has properties worth crores, including two high-end cars and a motorcycle, 10 houses in Mumbai, two land plots at his native place in Uttar Pradesh, five acre agricultural land, 1.5 kg gold, insurance policies worth around Rs 10 lakh and cash in about 30 bank accounts, the official said.

    Thakur was allegedly involved in extorting money from hawkers at railway stations and he would beat and attack them with sharp weapons if they refused to pay, he said, adding that apart from other provisions, the accused has now also been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

    The accused was running the extortion racket at Dadar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Byculla and Kurla railway stations here as well as stations in neighbouring Thane city and Kalyan town, the official said.

    Thakur and his wife Rita Singh have multiple cases registered against them and many of them are still pending in court, Dadar Government Railway Police’s (GRP) senior inspector Dnyaneshwar Katkar said.

    “We have invoked the MCOCA against Thakur, his wife and six other associates and attached their properties.

    The last case was registered against them under Sections 387 (extortion) and 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and further investigation is underway,” the official said.