Mumbai gang stages 'Special 26'-style raid, demands Rs 1 crore, 10 arrested

A gang posing as Income Tax and Crime Branch officials staged a fake raid on a Mumbai businessman and his wife. The case has led to 10 arrests, including two department employees, as police probe a wider network.

In Short

• The accused forced the couple from home to office premises
• Eleven employees were confined after landline wires and phones were seized
• Police said fake identity cards and assigned roles made the operation believable

A Mumbai businessman and his wife were held at gunpoint by a gang posing as Income Tax and Crime Branch officials, who staged a fake raid at their home and business premises and demanded Rs 1 crore in extortion. The Andheri police have arrested 10 people in connection with the case, including an Income Tax inspector and a tax assistant.

Police said the gang planned the operation on the lines of the Bollywood film Special 26, using fake government identity cards and assigned roles to make the raid appear genuine. The investigation has also brought another Income Tax official under the scanner.

EX-DRIVER PLOTTED FAKE RAID AFTER SALARY DISPUTE

The case was registered at Andheri police station after businessman Rajkumar Kandasami, 49, approached the police.

According to police, Santosh Uday Khopatkar, 37, who had previously worked as Kandasami's driver, had a dispute with him and was allegedly dismissed without receiving six months' salary. Police suspect Khopatkar used information he had gathered about his former employer and allegedly planned the fake raid with six men and three women known to him.

BUSINESSMAN, WIFE FORCED INTO CAR

The accused first arrived at Kandasami's residence posing as Income Tax officials and told him that an Income Tax raid was being conducted against him.

They forced Kandasami and his wife into a vehicle and took them to their business premises. Eleven employees were present there at the time.

At the premises, the accused continued posing as Income Tax and Crime Branch officials and displayed fake government identity cards to create the impression of an official raid.

LANDLINE CUT, 11 EMPLOYEES LOCKED UP

Once inside the business premises, the accused cut the wires of the landline telephone to prevent anyone from contacting the outside world.

They then took possession of the mobile phones belonging to the businessman, his wife and the 11 employees. The employees were locked inside a room and prevented from leaving.

The businessman and his wife were abused and threatened with Income Tax action. The gang then demanded Rs 1 crore, threatening them with further action if they did not pay.

WOMEN'S BEHAVIOUR RAISED BUSINESSMAN'S SUSPICION

The plan, however, began to unravel when Kandasami became suspicious of the three women among the group.

DCP Datta Nalavade, Mumbai Police, West Region 3 said their manner of speaking and behaviour did not appear consistent with that of Income Tax officials. Their conduct and conversations raised doubts in the businessman's mind that the raid was not genuine.

The matter was subsequently reported to the police, following which Andheri police began investigating the alleged operation.

Rs 50,000 OFFERED TO PLAY 'OFFICER'

The investigation revealed that two Income Tax officials and two other accused had promised the remaining members of the gang Rs 50,000 each to act out roles during the fake raid.

Police suspect the accused had assigned specific roles to different members, with some posing as officials and others as employees, in an attempt to make the operation resemble a genuine Income Tax raid.

GANG CARRIED OUT EARLIER Rs 25 LAKH RAID

Police said this was not the gang's first fake raid.

A similar operation had earlier been carried out in Thane's Manpada area, where around Rs 25 lakh was extorted. Two accused were subsequently arrested in that case.

According to police, the investigation into the current case has indicated that the gang may have carried out several other fake raids using a similar modus operandi. Investigators are now examining previous cases to determine how many businessmen may have been targeted and how much money the gang allegedly collected.

ANOTHER INCOME TAX OFFICIAL UNDER SCANNER

The role of another Income Tax official has also emerged during the investigation, Nalavade said, adding police is examining the official's involvement and links with the other accused.

Two Income Tax department employees — an Income Tax inspector and a tax assistant — have already been arrested following information that emerged during questioning, Nalavade said.

10 ARRESTED, PROBE INTO WIDER NETWORK UNDERWAY

The 10 arrested accused have been identified as Santosh Uday Khopatkar, 37; Vinay Ramesh More, 37; Prem Kisan Sabnani, 50; Pragya Harish Main, 27; Reshma Shamrao Warang, 41; Sabina Hafeez Sheikh, 48; Suresh Mahavirprasad Mishra, 57, an Income Tax inspector; Sunil Manohar Gore, 59, a tax assistant; Jitu alias Jitendra Namdev More, 52; and Ashok Vithoba Shinde, 57.

Police said the arrests were made on the basis of technical investigation.

A case has been registered under Sections 61(2), 204, 205, 333, 140(2), 127(1), 351(2) and 308(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Andheri police are now investigating the wider network to establish how many fake raids the gang carried out, which businessmen were targeted, how much money was collected and how many Income Tax department personnel may have been involved.

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