MUMBAI: The Rs 10 lakh that Shiv Sena member of Junnar zilla parishad
Gulab Parkhe extorted from
Hiranandani Gardens Private Limited in January was recovered by the police on Friday.
The money was part of the Rs 6 crore that Gulab Parkhe had demanded to not complain to the BMC about the alleged irregularities he claimed to have found in Hiranandani’s upcoming building projects. Parkhe was arrested late on Wednesday from a Mulund hotel, where he had arrived to collect Rs 1 crore from one of Hiranandani’s employees.
“The recovered Rs 10 lakh will be submitted in the court. We have also started collecting footage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at spots where Parkhe had called the Hiranandani employee for negotiations and also the hotel spot from where he was arrested while taking Rs 1 crore cash on Wednesday. We have recordings of telephone conversations where Parkhe is heard demanding bribe,” said a police officer.
Deputy commissioner of police (zone X)
Navinchandra Reddy said Parkhe and his driver Vittal Phalke have been sent to police custody for two days. “Parkhe (53) used to earlier work for the
Hiranandani Group. After he quit, he started making
extortion calls and also filed complaints in the land survey department. He initially demanded Rs 20 crore but later settled on Rs 6 crore,” said Reddy.
