A 27-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly demanding Rs 1 crore from senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former minister Chhagan Bhujbal over the phone by posing as an Income Tax officer, police said on Saturday.
Bhujbal's PA Santosh Gaikwad had received multiple calls from an unidentified person between April 23 and May 16, following which he approached the police.
"The caller told Bhujbal's PA that the Income Tax Department will raid Bhujbal's farmhouse in Trimbakeshwar. He offered to help by claiming that he is part of the I-T team and demanded Rs 1 crore," the police said.
An investigation was launched after Bhujbal's PA informed the Nashik police commissioner.
The accused demanded that the money be delivered to him in Dharampur in Gujarat, but didn't turn up. He again called up Bhujbal's PA and asked him to come to a hotel in Karanjali village in Peth taluka of Nashik district.
After the accused arrived at the spot on a motorcycle and accepted money, he was arrested by a team of crime branch officials lying in wait, the police said.
The accused is identified as Rahul Dilip Bhusare, a resident of Karanjali, from the spot.
The police seized 60 Indian currency notes of Rs 500 denomination, 15 bundles of Rs 500 denomination notes of Bharatiya Bachhon Ka Bank, and scrap papers, cumulatively worth Rs 85,500 from his possession. -- PTI
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