Pune: 2 booked for demanding Rs 10 lakh from hospital director

PUNE: The Hadapsar police are investigating a complaint lodged by a medical director (62) of a private hospital in Magarpatta stating that two men had demanded Rs10 lakh from him on June 24 for settling an alleged dispute pending with the income tax department in Mumbai.
The medical director said on Monday, “I was in the hospital when the two men posing as I-T (income tax) officials visited me around 7.45pm and informed me that the I-T, Mumbai, had received a complaint against me.They demanded Rs10 lakh for settling the dispute and threatened me that the I-T department would take action against me if their demand was not met with.”
He said, “The duo did not share details of the complaint when I asked them why it was not filed with I-T, Pune. They again threatened me, saying that the matter would reach the central government-level. They told me that they were not with the I-T department but their boss working in I-T, Mumbai, had instructed them to demand extortion from me.”
The victim said, “I told the suspects that they were demanding extortion and told them to wait till I called the Hadapsar police, but they fled. I shared information of the incident with the police and they have promised to act on my complaint.”
Assistant inspector Vijay Shinde said, “The hospital has provided CCTV footage of the two men. We shall establish their identity and arrest them soon. We are also analysing footage outside the hospital to establish the routes they used.”
An FIR related to extortion and impersonation was registered under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.