PUNE: The crime branch of the Pune police on Thursday afternoon arrested an autorickshaw driver and a sweeper with the government printing press for demanding extortion of Rs 2 lakh from a businessman, who is also an RTI activist based in Shivajinagar police station.
A case against the autorickshaw driver and the sweeper was registered with the Shivajinagar police station, following a complaint from the businessman. Police refused to divulge the names of the duo.
According to the FIR, the duo contacted the businessman. They claimed that the businessman had filed an RTI, following which an officer from the civic body has given ‘supari’ (Contract) to beat up the businessman. They claimed that there were six to seven officers with the different government offices who were unhappy with the businessman because of his RTI pleas.
“The duo then claimed that they too know in-and-out why he was filing RTI pleas. To keep mum, the duo demanded Rs 2 lakh from him,” police said, adding that they issued threats to the businessman and extorted a sum of Rs 75,000 from him last week and kept on demanding the remaining sum of Rs 1.25 lakh.
