Pune: Pimpri police on Monday arrested a 19-year-old youth and detained his minor accomplice on the charge of extorting Rs1,200 from a civil contractor in Chinchwad and damaging five vehicles in the area. The incident occurred at Vidyanagar in Chinchwad in the early hours of Monday. The 54-year-old contractor lodged a complaint with the Pimpri police on the same day.The duo and one more accomplice were charged under sections 308 (extortion) and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Assistant police inspector Amol Kadam of the Pimpri police told TOI that the contractor stated in his complaint that about two days ago, the accused threatened to kill him and extorted Rs 1,200 from him.On Monday around 1am, when the complainant was standing outside his home, the trio arrived and demanded Rs2,000 again to celebrate “Bhai’s” birthday. “When the contractor refused to give them the money again, the trio abused him. They smashed the windscreens of the complainant’s parked car with a billhook and an iron rod,” Kadam said.The officer said that upon hearing the commotion, the residents in the area gathered, and the trio abused and threatened them too. They also demanded money from them. The residents started running helter-skelter when the trio, carrying iron rods and billhooks, charged towards them. “People locked themselves inside their houses, while some hid behind the parked vehicles,” the officer said.Kadam said that the accused damaged four more parked vehicles, including autorickshaws and a mini-truck. “We have arrested the 19-year-old suspect, who had criminal cases registered against him when he was a minor,” Kadam said, adding, “The search is on for the third youth.”
