On Saturday, December 10, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police launched a search operation to nab former Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) corporator from Ward 24, Mumbai, Yogesh Bhoir who is currently on the run. The manhunt is launched after a self-proclaimed RTI activist Bhimsen Yadav was arrested last week for blackmailing and extorting Rs 1 crore from a Mumbai-based developer.
Yogesh Bhoir joined Shiv Sena in 2017 along with his wife Madhuri Bhoir who is a sitting Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray corporator from Thakur village in Kandivali.
Harshal More, an employee at the SD Corporation in his complaint accused the alleged RTI activist Bhimsen Yadav of filing RTIs since 2018 with government departments against the developer with the sole intention to extort money and attempting to derail construction work in Kandivali. Notably, SD corporation is undertaking a housing project in Samta Nagar, Kandivali.
After getting tired of the harassment, the company authorities called Yadav to a meeting, where he demanded Rs 2 crore before settling for Rs 1 crore as an extortion amount to stop harassing them and let the construction work continue. Yadav also stated that he would have to split the money with officials and politicians from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
When Yadav arrived at the Kandivali office to collect the first installment of the amount, the police set him up and arrested him. He was charged in accordance with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
During the interrogation, Bhimsen Yadav informed the police of Yogesh Bhoir’s role in the case. Bhoir allegedly accompanied Yadav when he went to the company to take the extortion amount.
Bhoir is currently on the run from the police, and officials are searching for him. The former Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray camp) corporator has been named in the chargesheet.
According to officials, the role of some political figures and those working with Yadav is also being investigated, and more people may get arrested in relation to the case.