Mumbai Police have arrested two Income Tax Department officials for their alleged involvement in a fake tax raid conducted at a businessman’s office in Andheri and an attempt to extort ₹1 crore from him.
The arrested officials have been identified as Income Tax Inspector Suresh Mahavir Prasad Mishra, 57, and Assistant Sunil Manohar Gore, 59. According to the police, their names emerged during the interrogation of six people arrested earlier in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
Two other accused—Jitu alias Jitendra Namdev More, 52, and Ashok Vithoba Shinde, 57—were also arrested. With the latest action, the number of arrests in the case has increased to ten.
Police are investigating the precise role allegedly played by the two Income Tax officials. Investigators are also searching for a third department official who allegedly accompanied the group during the purported raid and is currently absconding.
“During interrogation, the arrested accused claimed that three Income Tax officials had accompanied them during the fake raid at the businessman’s premises. We have arrested two of the officials and are investigating their exact role in the conspiracy,” a police officer was quoted as saying.
Fake Raid Allegedly Conducted in July
The alleged incident took place on July 17 at the Chakala office of Two-M-Optotronics Private Limited, owned by 49-year-old businessman Rajkumar Kandasami.
Police said the accused entered the office while posing as Income Tax and police officials. One of them allegedly produced a search warrant and warned the businessman that he would have to pay ₹1 crore to avoid punitive action for purported income-tax violations.
When Kandasami said he did not have the money and requested a formal legal notice, the accused allegedly threatened to arrest him and claimed that he would otherwise face a substantially higher penalty.
The accused allegedly told the businessman that ₹1.7 lakh in cash had been recovered from his office and that the penalty for the supposed violations amounted to ₹1.44 crore. Kandasami, however, refused to hand over money directly and insisted that any payment would be made only to the Income Tax Department after receiving an official notice.
Former Driver Suspected of Planning Conspiracy
The investigation has indicated that one of the accused, 37-year-old Santosh Khopatkar, had previously worked as a driver for Kandasami.
Khopatkar was reportedly dismissed following an argument. Police suspect that he subsequently used information acquired during his employment to plan the alleged conspiracy and target the businessman’s office with the assistance of other accused persons.
Apart from Khopatkar, the six people arrested earlier were identified as Vinay More, 37; Prem Sabhani, 50; Pragya Main, 27; Reshma Warang, 41; and Sabina Sheikh, 48.
The four latest arrests were carried out under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade and Andheri Police Station Senior Inspector Umesh Machhinder. The investigating team included Crime Inspector Atul Nikam, Assistant Inspector Ramdas Kadam, Sub-Inspectors Rohan Surve and Rameshwar Karpe, Assistant Sub-Inspector Rajendra Pednekar, and technical-support officer Vishal Pisal.
Case Registered for Extortion, Impersonation and Kidnapping
Following Kandasami’s complaint, Andheri Police registered a criminal case involving allegations of impersonation, kidnapping, extortion, criminal conspiracy, house trespass and criminal intimidation.
The investigation remains underway to determine the extent of the alleged involvement of the arrested tax officials, identify any additional participants and trace the third Income Tax official claimed to have accompanied the group.
All allegations remain subject to investigation and determination by the competent court.
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