The victim said he also received a call from an unknown number; the caller claimed he was “joint commissioner of police, Mumbai.” (File Photo enhanced using Google Gemini)
Four men impersonating as senior Mumbai police officers allegedly extorted Rs 99.16 lakh from a businessman in Malad over the last year, threatening to slap false murder charges against him, encounter death and harm to his family members, police said.
“Dindoshi police arrested one suspect on Saturday. As of now, police’s involvement has not been found in the matter, further probe is on, a senior police officer said.
Unable to meet further demands of the accused, the 39-year-old businessman left his home on December 15 without informing anyone. His wife registered a missing person complaint at the Dindoshi police station. Police traced the businessman on Friday (December 19) and brought him back. During questioning, he told the police about the alleged extortion.
The businessman lives in Malad (east) with his wife, eight-year-old son and father. He runs a gas agency in Malad. He alleged that “one Pravin Khedekar, who used to collect donations for Ganesh festival, called him from an unknown number saying he was in financial difficulty and needed money”. The victim transferred Rs 2,100 through Google Pay. Between September and October 2024, the victim said he paid Rs 10,600 to Khedekar.
The victim said he also received a call from an unknown number; the caller claimed he was “joint commissioner of police, Mumbai” and said Khedekar had killed a person under a “contract given by the businessman and there was proof he had transferred money to Khedekar for the murder”. The caller threatened that if he did not want to be arrested he needed to pay him money. The victim alleged a senior citizen collected the first Rs 50,000 from him at a BMC garden in Dhanjewadi area, Malad east. Later “one Avinash Shinde” called the victim threatening that if he wanted to avoid arrest, he needed to pay Rs 7 lakh. The victim alleged in the FIR he received multiple calls from unknown numbers, with the caller claiming to be “joint commissioner and Mumbai police commissioner”.
Fearing arrest, he allegedly paid Rs 80 lakh cash at public places such as near Malad station and Andheri flyover and also transferred funds online and through UPI totalling totaling Rs 99.16 lakh. The victim further alleged he had taken loans from several banks and also against his gas agency to pay the extortion money through his bank accounts between September 2024 and December 2025.