Mumbai: The Marine Drive police have arrested an Aurangabad resident who impersonated an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis , and under the pretext of clearing a private contractor’s pending PWD bills worth Rs 50 crore, extorted Rs 3.5 crore from a civil contractor.
The police arrested Asif Ismail Pathan (40), a native of Aurangabad. The court remanded him to police custody till Nov 6. Fearing financial losses and the possible collapse of his business, he arranged Rs 1.25 crore from his hotel business, construction company, and friends and travelled to Mumbai on Sept 10 and handed over the money through an alleged associate described as the caller’s bodyguard outside Hotel Trident at Nariman Point. The complainant alleged that the accused later demanded the remaining commission and collected another Rs 2 crore on Sept 15 through the same associate, who arrived in a Toyota Innova car bearing registration number MH20 HB 5666.
police said they are yet to arrest his accomplices, recover the cash, and recover the vehicle used in the crime While seeking his custody. Police said that they suspect that the accused and his accomplices have cheated a few other people with a similar modus operandi. Based on his complaint, the Marine Drive police registered an FIR against an unknown person under the BNS sections of impersonation, extortion, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. Oberoi alleged that he was subsequently put in touch with another person claiming to have the final authority to approve PWD bills.
He was produced before the court and remanded to police custody.