''RTI activist'' held for extortion

A 32-year-old "RTI activist" was arrested for allegedly trying to extort Rs 3 lakh from a real

estate developer in the western suburb of Bandra here, police said on Tuesday.

The Nirmal Nagar police on Sunday nabbed Sandesh Kadam, while a manhunt has been launched for another activist

Mahendra Pawar, an official said. The accused had demanded Rs 3 lakh from Kunal

Sarmalkar in exchange of not lodging a complaint against his ongoing project in Amrutnagar locality of Bandra (east), he

said. The duo frequently lodged queries and complaints at

the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other government organisations, he added.

Sarmalkar had filed a police complaint on December 27 stating that the accused had been harassing him since October

and he had already paid them Rs 50,000. Following an FIR, Kadam was arrested under sections

384 (extortion) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, the official added.