Pune: In a significant operation, the Paud police arrested four individuals from Thane district for attempting to extort money from a local shopkeeper in Pirangut by posing as journalists and NGO representatives.

The accused had used fake identity cards to threaten the shop owner and demand a hefty sum as hush money.

The accused, identified as Himanshu Dubey, Vijay Jha, Rohin Kedarsingh Patel, and Jitendra Kamalashankar Sharma, were apprehended after the shopkeeper, Imamuddin Ghafoor Khan, filed a complaint.

According to police reports, the incident occurred on Friday, the 11th of this month, between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. at Khan's grocery store located in the Pirangut camp area, Mulshi Taluka.

Khan recounted how the four men entered his shop claiming to be representatives of "Hamara Foundation" from Kalwa, Thane, and flashed fake journalist and NGO identification cards.

They proceeded to inspect his shop, specifically targeting and removing gutkha products, which are banned. The group threatened to report him to the police, seal his shop, and send him to jail unless he paid a substantial bribe.

Initially, they demanded ₹10 lakh to settle the matter, but after negotiations, they agreed to reduce the demand to ₹2.5 lakh.

Khan, realizing the gravity of the situation, approached the Paud police, who immediately launched an investigation. The police successfully apprehended the accused and confiscated fake identity cards and a vehicle used by them.

The arrested individuals are currently in police custody, and further investigations are ongoing to determine if they were involved in similar incidents elsewhere.