Extortion Racket at Ayurvedic Center Busted: Three Arrested in Pune
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Sahakarnagar, 11th March 2025: The Pune Police have arrested three individuals for allegedly extorting money from an Ayurvedic treatment center in Pune by threatening to make misleading videos viral on social media. The accused were caught following a detailed investigation after a complaint was filed by the treatment center’s employee.
According to the police, the incident took place on 3rd February 2025, around 1:00 PM, when two men entered the Tejashree Ayurvedic Upchar Kendra at Punyainagar Classic Heights, Dhankawadi, Pune, and inquired about Ayurvedic treatments. The complainant, who was working at the center at the time, informed them about the treatment process. One of the men identified himself as Rohit Waghmare and asked for a specific treatment. During the session, he began threatening the employee, claiming he was a political party president. He warned that if the treatment was not done as per his demand, he would shut down the Ayurvedic center.
Shortly after, two to three more individuals arrived and showed the staff a secretly recorded video of the treatment session. They threatened to make the video viral on social media unless they were given money. When the staff refused, the accused forcibly took ₹800 from the counter before fleeing.
Following the complaint, a case was registered on 6 March 2025 at Sahakarnagar Police Station.
Under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Rahul Gaud, officers Sagar Patil and the investigation team conducted a technical analysis to track down the suspects. With the help of Warje Malwadi Police Station staff, the police arrested three accused:
Rohit Gurudutt Waghmare (29) – Resident of Panchshil Tarun Mandal, Bhimnagar, Uttamnagar, Pune
Shubham Changdev Dhanwate (20) – Resident of Ganraj Complex, Ahire Gate, Uttamnagar, Pune
Rahul Dnyaneshwar Waghmare (36) – Resident of SRA Building, Kelewadi, Paud Road, Kothrud, Pune
During questioning, the accused confessed to their involvement in the extortion. They also admitted to committing similar crimes at 7 to 8 other locations across Pune.
Previous Criminal Records
Rohit Waghmare has an earlier case registered against him at Warje Police Station (GR No. 507/2021) under Section 354 (molestation).
Rohit Waghmare and Shubham Dhanwate are also accused in a case registered at Ambhora Police Station, Beed (GR No. 208/2024) under IPC Section 304(4).
Another case is registered at Pathardi Police Station, Ahmednagar (GR No. 850/2024) under IPC Section 309(6), where Waghmare is a wanted criminal.
Court Remand and Ongoing Investigation
The Court has remanded the accused to police custody till 12 March 2025 for further investigation.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police (Western Region) Pravin Kumar Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smartana Patil, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Swargate Division) Rahul Aware.
The investigation team included Senior Police Inspector Rahul Gaud, Police Inspector (Crime) Surekha Chavan, Assistant Police Inspector Sagar Patil, Assistant Sub Inspector Bapu Khutwad, and police personnel Amol Pawar, Bajrang Pawar, Mahesh Mandlik, Sagar Sutkar, Kiran Kamble, Chandrakant Jadhav, Nikhil Rajivde, Pradeep Renuse, Akash Kirtikar, Mahesh Bhagat, Amit Padmale, Yogesh Dhole, and Khandu Shinde.
The police are now investigating other possible victims of this extortion racket and urge anyone affected to come forward.
