Pune: Businessman Abbas Ganji and two others have been booked on charges of demanding ransom of Rs 10 lakh from a property owner in Guruwar Peth. The suspects claimed to have proximity to senior officers from the Pune city police department and were pressurising the victim by taking names of certain officers.

Two separate FIRs have been registered against the suspects in this matter. First FIR is about the extortion while the second FIR is about obstructing police personnel from Khadak police station who had gone to the spot after the property owner had informed about the incident to the police control room.

The suspects identified as Mohammad Ali Mehendi Ganji, Abbas Ganji and Ali Akbar Mehendi Ganji have been booked in both the cases. The extortion case has been filed by one Sameer Salim Mujawar (34), a resident of City Survey Number 484, Guruwar Peth, while the second FIR has been filed by Police Constable Balatu Raosaheb Ghadge (45) attached with the Khadak police station. Suspects Mohammad and Ali Akbar have been arrested.

According to police, Sameer Mujawar has purchased an old 'wada' (building) in Guruwar Peth and was cleaning up the place on Saturday (December 12) morning. The suspects came to the place and asked Mujawar to pay Rs 10 lakh or else vacate the property. The suspects threatened to kill Mujawar and claimed that they had protection from police. The suspects also cited close proximity with certain senior police officers of the Pune City Police department.

Mujawar immediately dialled the police control room number. Police constable Balatu Ghadge from Khadak police station reached the spot after receiving the information from the control room. The suspects threatened constable Ghadge too and started abusing him and Assistant Police Inspector Gosavi who had also accompanied Ghadge.

There were no CCTV cameras at the crime spot. Senior police officers from Zone 1 of the Pune City Police visited the spot immediately and instructed to file FIR against the suspects.