Man arrested for threatening Goa minister, his family members

The Goa Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly threatening state social welfare minister Subhash Phal Desai and his family.Superintendent of Police Crime Branch Rahul Gupta told reporters that the accused, Mithil Ulhas Desai, a resident of Carmona in Sanguem taluka in South Goa district, abused the minister and his family members over the phone earlier in the day.

The Goa Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly threatening state social welfare minister Subhash Phal Desai and his family.

Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta told reporters that the accused, Mithil Ulhas Desai, a resident of Carmona in Sanguem taluka in South Goa district, abused the minister and his family members over the phone earlier in the day. The accused used abusive language and warned them of dire consequences, said the police officer. As per a complaint filed by Subhash Desai, the accused sought a payment of Rs 20 crore from him and threatened to entangle the minister in a murder case.

Incriminating messages were recovered from the man's mobile phone, which has been seized, Gupta said.

Based on the complaint, the police filed an FIR against the accused under IPC sections 384 (extortion), 388 (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).