Pune: ‘Journalist’ Booked for Extortion Attempt on BJP Leader in Camp
Camp, 25th December 2023: The Lashkar Police Station has registered a case against journalist Suraj M Patole, residing in Ramtekdi Hadapsar, for allegedly attempting extortion of Rs 5000 per month from senior BJP leader Rajesh Janardhan Shrigiri (55).
The incident took place at 24 East Street in Camp between December 20 and December 24. The FIR outlines that the accused visited Shrigiri’s office, threatening to expose an illegal gambling den operating there. He demanded Rs 5000 per month as “hafta” (extortion) to refrain from publishing the news. The ‘journalist’ asserted that other businessmen were already paying him hafta, and Shrigiri must do the same. Following the threat, the journalist left the premises.
Police have booked Patole for offences under sections 385 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The journalist appears to run a weekly newspaper and had threatened to publish the report in the media,” he added.
In a past incident in 2019, during a raid, the unit II of the crime branch, under the then DCP (Crime) Bacchan Singh, had booked Shrigiri at Bhimpura Camp along with 14 others for alleged involvement in gambling at the location. Shrigiri was subsequently arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act.
