Two BJP corporators among three booked for extortion

A case has been filed against two BJP corporators and another local party leader after a builder complained that they allegedly extorted Rs 20 lakh from him and beat him up, the police said today.

The offences were registered against the three - Nilesh Chowdhari, leader of the BJP group in the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation in the district, Hanuman Chowdhari, the BJP leader and ward president in Bhiwandi, and Mahesh Patil, a party leader from the township, Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar said.

No arrest has been made so far, she said.

According to the complaint filed by builder Vikas Rathi, the accused had demanded Rs 60 lakh from him since 2012, she said.

The builder also alleged that the accused took him to an office of one of them and beat him up, and extorted a total of Rs 20 lakh from him over a period of time, Narkar said.

The victim approached the Thane police's anti- extortion cell chief Pradeep Sharma, who directed the Narpoli police to register the offence, she said.

The Narpoli police in Bhiwandi subsequently registered offences under IPC sections pertaining to extortion and was probing the case, Narkar added.

The corporators could not be contacted for their reaction.