'Special 26' Inspired Man Poses As Fake MPCB Officer, Arrested For Extorting ₹10,000 From Mumbai Factory Owner
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai: The Vanrai police have arrested a 29-year-old unemployed man from Badlapur for allegedly impersonating an officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and extorting money from a factory owner.
The accused has been identified as Swaraj Ghosalkar, who allegedly used the name Sachin Mahadik while posing as an MPCB field officer. He allegedly threatened factory owners with arrest for violating pollution-control norms.
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Abdul Shaikh, senior police inspector of Vanrai police station, said, “The accused is unemployed and has studied up to Class 12. He took inspiration from the movie Special 26 and extorted Rs 10,000 from the complainant. We have not found any previous record of him committing a similar offence. The investigation is underway.”
According to the Vanrai police, the complainant, Shailesh Povale, 52, a resident of Vishweshwar Road, Goregaon East, owns a company named Lakshmi Metallurgical and Marine Engineers, located at Kothari Industrial Estate in Goregaon East.
Povale told the police that on August 25, at around 12.53 pm, while he was in his cabin, his accountant, Vijay Mandavkar, informed him that an officer from the MPCB wanted to meet him. Povale asked the alleged officer to enter his cabin and show his identity card. The man instead showed him a visiting card bearing the name and designation “Field Officer Sachin Mahadik” and the address of the MPCB office at Kalpataru Point, Sion.
When Povale questioned him about why a different officer had visited the company previously, the accused allegedly said that the former field officer, Vikram Mane, used to conduct inspections, but he and his team were now handling the visits.
The accused then allegedly threatened to file a false report against Povale’s company for causing pollution and demanded money from him.
“When I informed him that we had never paid anyone in the past, he told me that I would have to face the consequences if I did not pay,” Povale told the police. Povale then summoned his accountant and instructed him to give Rs 10,000 in cash to the accused. Mahadik allegedly accepted the money and left the premises.
Shortly afterwards, Povale contacted BMC consultant Kailas Mane and asked whether an officer named Sachin Mahadik was working as a field officer with the MPCB. Mane confirmed that no such officer was employed by the MPCB.
Later that day, at around 9.12 pm, Povale received a WhatsApp call from the accused. Mahadik allegedly claimed that he had spoken to his superiors, SRO Shakeel Shaikh and RO Suchit Dholan, and told Povale that he would have to pay another Rs 25,000 to them.
When Povale asked him to bring his seniors to the company, the accused allegedly said, “If our boss comes there, you will have to pay Rs 25,000 in cash.” He then disconnected the call, saying he would speak to his boss.
A short while later, he allegedly called back and said that he had spoken to his boss and asked Povale to pay Rs 12,000 through Google Pay for a three-year clearance.
Povale told him that he could not make the payment through Google Pay and asked him to visit the company the next day at 11 am to collect the cash.
On August 26, when the accused arrived at Povale’s company around 10 am, Povale alerted the police control room. The police reached the spot and arrested Ghosalkar. The police have booked him for allegedly cheating and impersonation and are investigating whether he had similarly extorted money from other factory owners.
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