Pune: Four Arrested By Bharati Vidyapeeth Police For Allegedly Extorting ₹10 Lakh By Threatening To Demolish Construction
Pune: Four Arrested By Bharati Vidyapeeth Police For Allegedly Extorting ₹10 Lakh By Threatening To Demolish Construction
Pune, June 27, 2026: The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police have arrested four persons for allegedly extorting money by threatening a complainant with demolition of buildings and dire consequences. The accused were caught red-handed while accepting part of the extortion amount in a trap laid by the police.
According to police, the complainant had constructed a building and two residential houses for the Mamata Foundation near Huzurpaga School at Mangdewadi in Katraj. The prime accused, Vinod Nivrutti Gaikwad, founder and president of the Bhim Sangharsh Sanghatana, allegedly filed complaints with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) seeking demolition of the structures. He allegedly threatened the complainant that all the buildings would be demolished unless ₹10 lakh was paid.
Police said Gaikwad had already accepted a Titan wristwatch and ₹10,000 through Google Pay from the complainant as part of the extortion. Another accused, Sangram Dattatray Sonawane, allegedly received ₹5,000 through Google Pay.
Based on the complaint, Bharati Vidyapeeth Police registered Crime No. 345/2026 under Sections 308(2), 308(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, against Vinod Gaikwad, Rajabhau Kamble, Nilesh Kumbhar and Sangram Sonawane.
During the investigation, the accused allegedly instructed the complainant to deliver ₹50,000, part of the extortion amount, at Kinara Hotel in Katraj. Acting under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Manasing Patil, police laid a trap and sent the complainant to the location. Gaikwad and Sonawane were caught red-handed while allegedly accepting ₹50,000 in cash.
The arrested accused have been identified as Vinod Nivrutti Gaikwad (43), a social worker from Siddharth Nagar, Vinzar, Velhe Taluka, Pune district; Sangram Dattatray Sonawane (30), a resident of Siddharth Nagar, Vinzar, Velhe Taluka; Sudhir Mugut Shedge (38), a businessman residing near Huzurpaga School, Mangdewadi, Pune; and Nilesh Baban Kumbhar (42), a resident of Navi Ali, Bhor, Pune.
Police have seized property and valuables worth ₹7,09,850 from the accused. The investigation is being carried out by Assistant Police Inspector Ganesh Mohite.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police have appealed to citizens who may have been similarly threatened or forced to pay money or valuables to the accused to come forward and lodge complaints.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Milind Mohite and Assistant Commissioner of Police Rahul Aware by a team led by Senior Police Inspector Mansing Patil, Police Inspector (Crime) Kailas Kodag, Assistant Police Inspector Ganesh Mohite, Police Sub-Inspector Nilesh Mokashi, and other officers and personnel of Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station.
