One more case has been registered against fugitive gangster Nilesh Ghaywal and his brother Sachin Ghaywal, along with their gang members, for allegedly extorting Rs 44.36 lakh from a businesswoman from Pune’s Kothrud area.
As per the FIR registered on Friday at the Kothrud police station on a complaint filed by a 40-year-old woman, she and her partners run Edjunct Educational Services LLP, which provides food and transport services to a few schools in Pune city.
In February 2024, a physical education teacher identified as Bapu Kadam, who worked at one of these schools, told the woman that he ran a dairy that supplied milk and paneer to the school’s canteen. Kadam allegedly asked her to buy dairy products from him.
In March 2024, the woman transferred an amount of Rs 22,02,880 from her company’s account to a bank account that she believed was of Kalyani Dairy, run by Kadam, for supplying dairy products for 2024-2025. But no products were supplied even after the money was paid, the FIR stated.
When confronted by the woman, Kadam allegedly threatened to shut her business, claiming to be working with gangster Nilesh Ghaywal. Earlier this year, Kadam allegedly intercepted the woman and asked her to send more money for the next year. Meanwhile, Nilesh Ghaywal, his brother Sachin Ghaywal, who also worked as a physical education teacher at the school, and their gang members came to the spot.
Issuing threats, Sachin Ghaywal also asked the woman to transfer money to Kadam, according to the FIR.
The woman then transferred Rs 22,33,643 for Kadam’s “dairy” and, out of fear, did not file a complaint with the police. She later came to know that Kadam did not have any dairy business.
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The police have booked 13 people, including Nilesh Ghaywal, Sachin Ghaywal and Bapu Kadam, under sections 189 (1), 189 (2), 190, 308 (4), 126 (2), 351 (1), 351 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita—charges related to extortion, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, and criminal intimidation.
The police have cracked down on the Ghaywal gang since a September 17 incident in which its members allegedly opened fire at a man and attacked a student with sharp weapons in Kothrud following a road-rage incident. Based on the complaints filed by the two victims, two FIRs were registered against the assailants. The police had invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the Ghaywal gang in these cases.
While some members of his gang were arrested, Nilesh Ghaywal managed to evade the investigators and travelled abroad last month. Booked for crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, and extortion, he is suspected to have travelled to London and Switzerland.
Passport on false affidavit
A separate FIR was lodged against Nilesh Ghaywal at the Kothrud police station as an investigation revealed that he had procured a passport illegally on an address in Ahilyanagar district even after a “not available” remark was given by the police on his passport application in January 2020. The police said he had submitted a false affidavit stating there were no cases against him while applying for the passport.
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While granting him bail in 2022, a court directed Nilesh Ghaywal to surrender his passport. But he did not surrender the passport. Also, the police failed to take action against him for not following the court’s directions.
Earlier this week, the police registered a fresh case against Ghaywal, under the Telecommunications Act, for fraudulently procuring a SIM card using the identity of another person and then using that SIM card for financial transactions.
Meanwhile, the process for cancellation of his passport has been initiated, and a blue corner notice issued against him through Interpol for his extradition, the police said.
Also, a search is underway for Sachin Ghaywal, who has been on the run since he along with Nilesh Ghaywal was booked in a case of property grabbing and extortion, filed by a Pune-based businessman.
