7 days ago
Sarpanch threatened, 3.4cr extorted from him
Surat: A gang extorted Rs 3.4 crore from the sarpanch of Mandir village in Jalalpore taluka of Navsari district, by threatening to kill him and his two sons.
Devang Desai (52) was shown firearms and threatened into paying the money, starting in Oct 2023.
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Jalalpore police have booked three persons for extortion and criminal intimidation.
Navsari superintendent of police Sushil Agrawal handed over the investigation to the local crime branch (LCB).
According to the FIR, Desai is a farmer and has been sarpanch of Mandir village for three years. He lives with his mother, wife and two sons.
In Oct 2023, he received a call from an Amalsad man, Rajesh alias Mohammad Isaq Memon, who expressed interest in buying Desai's land.
When Desai went to meet him, Memon showed him a gun and told him that he had got a 'supari' (murder contract) to kill him and his sons, for Rs 20 lakh. Memon demanded Rs 60 lakh to not kill Desai and his sons. He later agreed to settle for Rs 40 lakh.
Desai paid him the money within a month, after selling nine bighas of his land.
Days later, Desai got a call from Memon, who told him to speak to his boss and handed over his phone. One 'Rajabhai from Mumbai' told Desai that he would save him and his sons and tell him who put out the murder contract when they met.
A week later, Memon called Desai to the Ashapuri temple and from there took him to a deserted spot where a black car was parked.
They got into the car and met 'Rajabhai' and one 'Sherabhai', who was holding a gun. Rajabhai threatened Desai, saying he would have to pay Rs 5 crore to not be killed. When Desai told them he did not have the money, they told him to pay Rs 3 crore.
A few days later, Memon called Desai and told him that he had paid Rs 3 crore to Rajabhai and demanded the money. Desai had recently got Rs 1.7 crore from the sale of two land parcels, which he gave to Memon. He also borrowed Rs 42 lakh from Bank of Baroda by putting up gold as collateral and gave that money to Memon. He mortgaged his dairy land for Rs 34 lakh and borrowed Rs 42 lakh from relatives, paying a total of Rs 3 crore to Memon by Dec 2024.
A few months later, he read a news article on people who had been cheated in Navsari and found the names similar to those who had extorted the money from him. He filed a complaint with police on Monday.
