Maha: Broker held for trying to extort Goa minister

The Goa police has arrested a city-based broker for allegedly trying to extort Rs 3 crore from Goa PWD minister Deepak Prabhu Pauskar, police said on Tuesday.

The police arrested Manish Shah from his home in the western suburb of Kandivali on Saturday night for allegedly making extortion calls to the minister, inspector Sudesh Naik of Panaji police station said.

The police had arrested three other accused, Pradip Malik, Amol Swami and R Patil, all hailing from Maharashtra, from outside the minister's official residence on January 22, he said.

Pauskar allegedly received threatening calls from an unidentified man demanding Rs 3 crore, following which he informed the police and a trap was laid outside his residence to nab the accused who came to collect the money, the official said.

Shah was arrested after the extortion calls were traced to his mobile phone, he added.

During interrogation, the trio had claimed that they were acting at the behest of another person, the official said, adding that they are investigating the involvement of a racket.

The police have registered a case of extortion against the accused and further investigations are underway, he added.