Pune: Abhay Arun Wadekar, Pune district coordinator of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party has been arrested by Chakan police on charges of blackmailing and extorting Rs 1 lakh from Priyadarshini English Medium School. The school had allegedly charged extra fees from students during lockdown and Wadekar had threatened to defame the school and launch an agitation if they did not pay him the amount.

Wadekar, a resident of Chakan in Khed tehsil of Pune district, had reportedly collected the extortion amount in phases and was pressing for complete payment from the school. A complaint has been filed at Chakan police station by Mahendra Indraneel Singh (51) from Indrayani Nagar of Bhosari on behalf of the school.

According to police, Wadekar had visited the Priyadarshini English Medium School on November 27 along with 7 to 8 other party workers. They submitted a letter on the issue of charging excess fees from students during the lockdown. The delegation also threatened to launch an agitation on the issue.

Wadekar met Singh on December 5 at the Nana Nani Park in Bhosari and demanded Rs 1 lakh for not protesting against the school. Wadekar allegedly took Rs 5000 from Singh at that time and then on December 7 he took Rs 25 thousand. After the two installments, Singh told Wadekar that he is unable to pay the remaining amount.

Wadekar later made a phone call to Singh and threatened him to defame the school. Hence, Singh approached the Chakan police station and filed a complaint against Wadekar. Police Inspector Prakash Dhas is investigating the case.