Pune: Extortion Case Registered Against Fake Journalists and RTI Activist
Dehu Road, 9th June 2025: Four individuals, including a fake journalist and a Right to Information (RTI) activist, have been booked for allegedly extorting Rs 50,000 from a Dehu Road resident by threatening action against his home. The incident took place on Saturday at Main Bazaar, Dehu Road.
According to the complaint filed by Rinku Satyendrapal Singh Malhotra (34, Dehu Road) at Dehu Road Police Station, the accused, Raju Marimuthu, Chandrashekhar Patre, Ramdas Tathe, and Babu Tekel, intimidated him over construction work at his ancestral property. Police reports state that Raju Marimuthu threatened Malhotra with a complaint to the Dehu Road Cantonment Board for alleged encroachment, warning of possible demolition action.
To intensify the pressure, fake journalist Chandrashekhar Patre, along with Ramdas Tathe and Babu Tekel, who posed as RTI activists, were sent to the site to record video footage of the construction. The accused then demanded Rs 50,000 from Malhotra in exchange for not filing a complaint and preventing any potential action against the property.
