Two men booked for 1 lakh extortion bid from Kharghar spa

Navi Mumbai: Two men were booked by Kharghar police for allegedly demanding Rs 1 lakh as extortion money from the manager of Spa Castle in Prime mall, Sector 12, Kharghar, by threatening to lodge a false complaint on the 112 police helpline claiming a prostitution racket was being operated at the spa. The duo also allegedly threatened to circulate the news in the media to defame the spa if their demands were not met.Investigating officer PSI Suraj Jadhav said the accused, who identified themselves as Satpute and Chavan, visited the spa on April 27 at 11 am and again at 7.15 pm and demanded money from the manager, Sunil Sharma, claiming they were journalists. To avoid filing a false complaint, they allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh in cash as ‘good luck', along with Rs 10,000 protection money (hafta) every month.The duo also allegedly demanded that Sharma provide them free of cost sexual favours from the masseuses at the spa. After Sharma informed the owner, Mahesh Nair (40), about the alleged extortion demand, Nair contacted Chavan on a WhatsApp call. Police said he threatened Nair and said he would ensure the spa business was permanently shut and compelled him to transfer Rs 5,000 by UPI payment.PSI Jadhav said, "We have obtained the images of the accused men from CCTV footage of the spa premises. We are also obtaining their call data records and using technical expertise tracking their location."