{
  "id": 15025546,
  "title": "Mumbai Crime Branch Uses Toy Currency In ₹30 Lakh Trap, Arrests Palghar Deputy Sarpanch & Aide In ₹80 Lakh Extortion Case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/mumbai-crime-branch-uses-toy-currency-in-30-lakh-trap-arrests-palghar",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-16T18:33:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-crime-branch-uses-toy-currency-in-30-lakh-trap-arrests-palghar-deputy-sarpanch-aide-in-80-lakh-extortion-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai Police's Crime Branch Unit 9 has apprehended two individuals, including a deputy sarpanch, in connection with an extortion case demanding ₹80 lakh. The arrests were made after a trap was set in Andheri. To lure the suspects, the complainant used bundles containing fake toy currency notes worth ₹30 lakh, with real ₹500 notes placed on each bundle. The arrested men are Machhindra Ankush Pashte, a 42-year-old resident of Pashtepada, and Vaibhav Vilas Harad, a 37-year-old resident of Budhavali. Both are suspects in the extortion case. The complainant, Girraj Kishor Agarwal, lodged a complaint with Amboli police station after the suspects demanded protection money to allow a stone quarry project in Wada taluka. The accused allegedly used forged documents and threatened Agarwal with a pistol. The police seized four mobile phones and other property from the accused, and a case has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act.",
  "summary": "Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Crime Branch's Unit 9 has arrested two men, including a sitting deputy sarpanch, for allegedly demanding ₹80 lakh in extortion money to allow a stone quarry to operate in Wada taluka of Palghar district and threatening the complainant with a pistol. The arrests were made by Unit 9 of the Crime Branch after laying a trap in Andheri. In a unique operation, the complainant…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}