Pune Police Arrest Fake Bank Recovery Agent for Extortion and Bike Seizure
Pune, 24th July 2024: Pune Police Crime Branch has arrested a fake recovery agent who claimed to be from ICICI Bank. This individual illegally seized a bike due to unpaid loan instalments and demanded extortion of Rs 37,500. Even after the amount was paid, the recovery agent did not return the bike. This action was taken by the Anti-extortion Squad – 2 of the Pune Police Crime Branch.
A case was registered at Market Yard Police Station under IPC Sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 384 (punishment for extortion), 392 (punishment for robbery), and 419 (punishment for cheating by personation). The Anti Extortion Branch has arrested Vinod Chander Chavan (age 23, resident of Bibwewadi).
According to police reports, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade had instructed his officers to gather information on recovery agents who illegally seize properties bought through loans. During the investigation, an accused claiming to be a recovery agent for ICICI Bank was found guilty of wrongdoing.
The accused deceived a citizen by claiming to be a recovery agent and seized his Suzuki Burgman bike, stating that the loan instalments for the bike had not been paid. Upon seizing the bike, the accused demanded an extortion amount of Rs 37,500, which the complainant paid. However, the complainant still did not receive his Suzuki Burgman back. The complainant then approached the police, leading to the arrest of the accused. The police have urged citizens to promptly report such incidents.
The action was taken under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amol Zende, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime 2) Satish Govekar. The team included Police Inspector Pratap Mankar, Police Sub-Inspectors Mohandas Jadhav and Shrikant Chavan, and Police Constables Surendra Jagdale, Sangram Shingare, Saidoba Bhojrao, Dilip Gore, Chetan Apte, Amol Ghawate, Anil Kusalkar, Chetan Chavan, Ajinath Yede, Prashant Shinde, Pawan Bhosale, Ganesh Kharat, Chetan Shirolkar, Aasha Kolekar, and Rupali Karnwar.
