Navi Mumbai, Jan 14: Posing as police officers, a gang allegedly robbed a Sangli-based trader of Rs 13.25 lakh in cash in Kharghar after luring him to the city on the pretext of a discounted gold deal. Kharghar police have registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy and launched a search for the accused.

According to the police, the complainant, Manish Shinde (56), a resident of Sangli who deals in sugar trading across various states, had been in contact with three men—identified as Ashish, Raju Bhai and Vicky—since September 2025. Ashish allegedly promised to arrange gold at a cheaper rate and introduced Shinde to the other two accused.

The deal was initially fixed for 100 grams of gold. The accused reportedly advised Shinde to carry cash in case there were issues with digital payment. Acting on this, Shinde arrived in Kharghar on January 6 with Rs 13.25 lakh in cash along with his friends.

Around 5.30 pm, while accused Raju was taking Shinde and his friend towards an office in Sector 20, five to six unidentified men arrived at the spot in a white Ertiga car, brandishing police batons and posing as policemen conducting a raid. They snatched the bag containing cash from Shinde, forcibly took Raju along in the car, and fled the scene.

Realising that he had been duped and that the incident was a pre-planned conspiracy, Shinde approached Kharghar police station and lodged a complaint.

Police have registered a case against the gang under Sections 318(4), 204 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Special teams have been formed to trace the accused. CCTV footage from the area is being scrutinised, and efforts are on to track the suspects using mobile phone records, police said.

Mandsaur, Jan 13: A Rajasthan-based man has been arrested for allegedly concealing his religious identity during his overnight stay with a woman in a hotel in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district, police said on Tuesday.

During the check-in at the hotel on Monday, the youth introduced himself as Chetan Prakash and submitted an ID (Aadhaar card) bearing that name at the reception counter. A woman was also accompanying him, according to police.

However, when he made an online payment of Rs 600, the hotel receptionist noticed that the amount was credited from the UPI registered in the name of Ashraf Khan, after which, the hotel staff informed the police.

The police took the couple to the Kotwali police station for questioning, during which the youth submitted another Aadhaar card bearing the name Ashraf Khan, a resident of Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan. Both the Aadhaar cards had the same photographs but different names and addresses.

After the verification, the police registered a case under the relevant section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with other relevant sections, Mandsaur’s Kotwali police station in-charge Pushpendra Singh Rathore told media persons on Tuesday.

The ID card of the woman revealed that she was a resident of Rajasthan’s Nagaur district. They had checked into the hotel in the morning and left for the examination shortly, according to the police.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Ashraf and the woman had come to Mandsaur to appear for a laboratory technician examination held at a government college in the district.

He said, “During interrogation, the woman said that she works as a nursing staff member at a private hospital in Jaisalmer. Families based in Rajasthan have been informed, and further investigation is underway.”

The Police officer further stated that the authenticity of both the Aadhaar cards recovered from the arrested man, identified as Ashraf Khan, is being verified, and further action would be taken accordingly.

Mumbai: In a shocking case of extortion, an RTI activist was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly blackmailing a Member of Parliament (MP) from Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district and demanding ₹5 crore. The accused had reportedly threatened the MP using information obtained through RTI applications and warned he would share it with central investigation agencies if the money was not paid.

When the MP began receiving threatening calls, he sent his Personal Assistant (PA) to meet the accused in the Medukur area to negotiate. However, during the meeting, the accused allegedly brandished a knife and robbed the PA of ₹70,000 in cash.

Following a complaint lodged by the MP’s office, the Medukur Police registered a case under serious sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 308(5), 351(2), 127(2), and 3(5), pertaining to extortion, criminal intimidation, and robbery.

During the investigation, police discovered that the accused identified as Rushant Jaykumar Wadke, a self-proclaimed RTI activist had obtained certain information about the MP through RTI applications. He used this information to threaten and blackmail the MP repeatedly.

After the robbery incident, Medukur Police traced Wadke’s location to Mumbai. A police team from Andhra Pradesh arrived in the city and, with the assistance of VP Road Police, arrested Wadke from the area. Police confirmed that further investigation is underway and efforts are on to identify and trace other accomplices involved in the extortion and robbery plot.