Navi Mumbai: Vashi police arrested a 43-year-old man impersonating an official of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and extorting money from a doctor. The accused on Friday, recieved bail for his crime. Shashikant Chandekar, senior inspector of Vashi, informed that NMMC’s assistant municipal commissioner and Vashi ward officer, Sukhdev Yedve, had alerted Vashi police about an imposter posing as NMMC official. The imposter was calling citizens and demanding extortion money under the pretext of illegal alterations in their apartments. Although they had received similar tips, no one lodged a police complaint. On Thursday afternoon, the fake civic official, identifying himself as Sandeep Tawade, called Dr Amrut Hanchate. He claimed that due to the renovation of his Sanpada apartment, there was damage to the building, and his apartment would be sealed if he didn’t pay Rs 25,000.Inspector Chandekar said, “However, the doctor verified with the Vashi ward office and learned there was no civic official by that name. Hence, Dr Hanchate registered an FIR. The complainant was told to call the imposter near Navratna Hotel in Vashi on Thursday evening. We laid a trap for him and caught him red-handed when he accepted Rs 5,000 as an extortion installment from the doctor.”Inspector Chandekar further informed that from his Aadhaar card, PAN card, election identity card, and driving licence, his real name was revealed as Amol Dattatray Phiske, a resident of the Deonar slum area. They seized the extorted Rs 5,000 cash along with more Rs 4,255 cash in his possession, a fake NMMC ID card with the name Sandeep Shankar Tawade, and another fake ID card of BMC with his real name, Amol Phiske. The imposter indulged in similar crimes in BMC jurisdiction as well. Inspector Chandekar said, “The accused Phiske was issued a notice under Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and given in writing the reason for his arrest, as he could have destroyed evidence of his crime.”
