Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Crime Branch Arrests 19-Year-Old and Two Minors in Extortion Case
Pimpri Chinchwad, 31st December 2024: Pimpri Chinchwad Police have arrested a notorious individual for threatening and extorting vegetable sellers in the city. Two minors have also been detained in connection with the case. The action was taken by the Anti-Extortion Squad and the Industry Cell of the Crime Branch. The accused had been threatening vegetable sellers in the Moshi area, and when some sellers attempted to stand up to him, he retaliated by threatening them, causing damage, and creating a ruckus. He was arrested yesterday.
The Anti-Extortion Squad has identified the accused as Aniket Bharat Utale, 19, a resident of Moshi, and two minors have been detained. A case has been registered against them under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita of 2023, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, the Arms Act of 1959, and the Bombay Police Act of 1951 for acts endangering life or personal safety of others, mischief, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Doiphode, in charge of the Pimpri Chinchwad Crime Branch, stated that yesterday, during the weekly market in the Moshi area, accused Aniket Utale and his minor accomplices demanded extortion of ₹200 from vegetable sellers. “If you want to set up a shop in the market at Adarsh Nagar, you will have to pay ₹200 each,” Utale told the sellers, according to DCP Doiphode.
DCP Doiphode further mentioned that many sellers refused to pay, prompting the accused to throw stones and break glasses to intimidate them. The Anti-Extortion Squad and Industry Cell officials were informed and promptly visited the spot. Based on the information available, they arrested Utale and detained two minors who were with him at a lodge in the Katraj area. The accused confessed to the crime, and the MIDC Bhosari Police Station is conducting further investigations, DCP Doiphode added.
This operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey, Joint Commissioner of Police Dr Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional Commissioner of Police Vasant Pardeshi, DCP (Crime) Sandeep Doiphode, DCP (Zone 3) Dr Shivaji Pawar, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime 2) Balasaheb Kopner. The teams, led by Senior Police Inspectors Devendra Chavan and Ganesh Jamdar, included Police Sub-Inspector Sunil Bhadane and Police Constables Ashish Botake, Pradeep Godambe, Mangesh Jadhav, Nitin Khese, and Chandrakant Gawari.
