Pune: Samarth police have registered another extortion case against absconding Right-To-Information (RTI) activist Ravindra Barhate along with dismissed cop Shailesh Jagtap and journalist Devendra Jain. Police have arrested three persons - including another dismissed cop Parvez Shabbir Jamadar - in this new case. They have been remanded to police custody by a court of Judicial Magistrate (First Class) on Sunday.
Builder Rishikesh Ashok Bartakke (35), residing at Baner, has filed the complaint in this regard at the Samarth police station. Based on his complaint, police have arrested Jamadar (35), a resident of Somwar Peth Police Colony, Jayesh Jitendra Jagtap (30), a resident of Ghorpade Peth and Amit Vinayak Karpe (33) a resident of Rasta Peth.
While Shailesh Jagtap and Devendra Jain are already in police custody in the case filed by another builder Sudhir Karnataki at Kothrud police station. Barhate and Prakash Phale from Sangvi are suspects in both cases and are still absconding.
Previously, Barhate had applied for anticipatory bail at the Shivajinagar District and Sessions Court, but it was rejected by District and Sessions Judge S N Sonawane on Friday (July 10).
According to the complainant, the three arrested suspects had shown him a bungalow and open space measuring 8500 square feet and located in the Shivaji Housing Society on Senapati Bapat Road in 2017-18. The suspects had falsely claimed that the property belongs to Phale - now absconding suspect - and that Phale and Jayesh Jagtap had entered into an agreement regarding the property. The said property was in litigation and the suspects had told the complainant that the court order will favour them. The suspects had told Bartakke to pay Rs 4.5 crore to Phale for purchasing the property.
Accordingly, Bartakke had paid Rs 49.30 lakh to Phale and later Rs 11.50 lakh to Karpe's bank account. At the same time, Shailesh Jagtap had also demanded a car as a gift from Bartakke, which the complainant had fulfilled.
Later when the complainant went to Jagtap's office in Rasta Peth for enquiring about the possession of the property, the three suspects threatened him with dire consequences. Shailesh Jagtap allegedly pointed a service revolver towards Bartakke and demanded that he pay another Rs 1.88 crore to him. Barhate was also present in the office and demanded an undertaking about not reporting the incident to police, Bartakke has stated in his complaint.
Edited by:
Najooka Javier
