Two Arrested for Allegedly Extorting Rs 6 Crore from Lower Parel Realty Firm
The Mumbai Crime Branch’s Anti-Extortion Cell has arrested two men for allegedly demanding ₹6 crore from a real estate company headquartered in Lower Parel. The accused, identified as Siddhesh Jana Tari and Pritesh Salgaonkar, were arrested from Dodamarg and remanded in police custody until September 3.
According to the police, the extortion demands were made against The House of Abhinandan Lodha Limited, which is developing the One Goa project. An official from the company, Shreyas Ramesh Patil, approached the NM Joshi Marg police station in Lower Parel and lodged a formal complaint on August 27. Following the initial filing, the investigation was handed over to the Crime Branch's Anti-Extortion Cell.
Police stated that Tari and Salgaonkar had allegedly been causing hurdles for the project, threatening to halt construction work and stage protests if their monetary demands were not met. The accused allegedly demanded a total of ₹6 crore, with each individual seeking ₹3 crore from the development firm.
Prior to the arrests, the company had allegedly paid ₹34 lakh to Tari and ₹7 lakh to Salgaonkar, making a total of ₹41 lakh. However, the accused continued to pressure the firm for further payments. On August 12, Salgaonkar allegedly contacted a company official via WhatsApp to demand additional money.
Acting on intelligence that both accused were located in Dodamarg, a team from the Anti-Extortion Cell carried out an operation and apprehended them. They were produced before a court on Sunday, which remanded both men to police custody until September 3 to facilitate further investigation into the alleged extortion.
