A Pune police extortion case has been registered against a police personnel and a private individual after a grocery shopkeeper in Uruli Devachi alleged that he was threatened with action over gutkha sales and made to pay ₹1.65 lakh to avoid a criminal case.
The case was registered at the Fursungi police station on the complaint of Prakash Gokulram Kumawat, 38, a resident of Dattanagar Chowk in Uruli Devachi, according to a report by Civic Mirror – Pune. The accused have been identified as police personnel Ramkishan Hambarde and private individual Satish More, a resident of Wadki.
According to the complaint, the two men arrived at Pooja Traders, a grocery shop at Sahyadri Chowk in Uruli Devachi, at around 7 am on October 8. They allegedly told the shopkeeper that they were police personnel and questioned him about the sale of gutkha. They then allegedly took possession of two sacks of Vimal-flavoured supari from a room where additional stock was kept.
The complaint states that the men threatened to register a case over gutkha sales and allegedly demanded ₹5 lakh to avoid action. After the shopkeeper said he could not pay that amount, the alleged demand was reduced to ₹1.65 lakh, according to the complaint.
The shopkeeper then reportedly asked his worker, identified as Raju Patel, to bring the money. The complainant, the police personnel and the private individual allegedly went to a road opposite Morya Market, where Patel handed over the cash to Hambarde. The money was allegedly counted inside a vehicle, after which the sacks of flavoured supari were returned, the complaint states.
The allegation concerns the manner in which enforcement powers were reportedly used. If the sale or possession of prohibited tobacco products is detected, the relevant authorities are expected to proceed under the applicable law rather than negotiate payment to prevent official action. The FIR, however, records allegations and does not by itself establish that the accused committed the offence.
The precise role of each accused, the circumstances surrounding the alleged seizure of the stock and the authenticity of the reported cash transaction will be established during the investigation. Fursungi police are conducting further inquiries into the case.
