Pune: A local journalist Sachin Jadhav-More, booked in an extortion case by Narayangaon police, attempted suicide on Sunday morning. He has been admitted in a private hospital for treatment at Narayangaon.
Police had arrested one Sandeep Pandurang Utarade, a local journalist running a YouTube channel named Junnar Times on charges of extorting Rs 20 thousand from a farmer after threatening him with broadcasting a news of an allegedly illegal excavation work going on in his farm. His other three accomplices including Sachin Jadhav-More were also booked in this case.
Jadhav-More was absconding while Utarade was remanded to police custody up to July 30 for interrogation by a court. Kishor Vilas Hande, a farmer from Yedgaon village in Junnar taluka has filed a complaint against the three local journalists. Utarade has two such extortion cases registered against him.
Hande has stated in his complaint that he had undertaken the excavation work at his farm in June month. At that time, Utarade and his partners came to the farm and asked him to stop work. Utarade threatened to broadcast news on his YouTube channel alleging that illegal work is being done at the farm.
Utarade had demanded Rs 50 thousand from Hande to not broadcast the news. When Hande refused to pay this amount, Utarade and his partner Jadhav agreed for Rs 20 thousand amount to be paid. Utarade and Jadhav took the money on June 23 at their Junnar office.
Pune Rural Police Superintendent Sandeep Patil said, “Sub Divisional Officer Deepali Khanna is investigating the case. After a complaint is filed, FIR is registered as a part of the process. After the FIR is registered police begin investigations in any case. The purpose of investigations is to find out the truth. If there is no evidence found, then the suspect's name in the case will be removed. We will conduct a free and fair investigation in the matter.”
