Pune: Sahakarnagar police have arrested three individuals for allegedly extorting money from a woman at an Ayurvedic treatment center by claiming to be a political party leader and a journalist. The incident took place at an Ayurvedic treatment center located in Classic Heights, Punyainagar, Dhankawadi. A court has ordered the accused to be remanded in police custody until March 12.
The arrested individuals have been identified as: Rohit Gurudutt Waghmare (29, resident of Bhimnagar, Uttamnagar), Shubham Changdev Dhanwate (20, resident of Ganraj Complex, Uttamnagar), and Rahul Dnyaneshwar Waghmare (36, resident of Kelewadi, Paud Road).
According to the police complaint, on February 3, Rohit Waghmare visited the Ayurvedic treatment center. While there, he introduced himself as the head of a political party and issued a threat: "If the treatments are not conducted as per my instructions, I will have this center shut down." He then underwent a treatment session.
Later, Waghmare returned with two accomplices. The trio demanded ₹20,000 from the woman running the center. They further threatened to release a video recording on social media if the money was not paid. Additionally, they forcibly took ₹800 from the counter.
Modus Operandi
Police revealed that one of the accused first entered massage centers as a regular customer. He would hide his phone in his shirt pocket and secretly record videos. Later, he would call his accomplices and threaten to release the footage on social media unless the victims paid a ransom.
Two of the arrested individuals have prior criminal records in multiple locations: Warje (Pune), Ambhora (Beed District), and Pathardi (Ahmednagar District). Preliminary investigations suggest that the gang may have carried out similar crimes at 7-8 different locations in the city. Following a complaint filed on March 6, the Sahakarnagar police launched an investigation and tracked down the accused with the help of the Warje Malwadi police.