Oct 21 (Mumbai Mirror): Three RTI activists were arrested on Monday night on the charge of running an extortion racket targeting builders.

The Mulund police said that Laxminarayan Shetty, Pankaj Chandanshive and Anil Mhaske had demanded Rs 2 lakh from a developer for not filing complaints with various government departments.

The developer, Sanjay Gharat, had planned to refurbish an old house with the help of his relative. In January, Shetty allegedly met him and sought Rs 1 lakh for not blocking the repairs by filing a complaint with the local BMC ward office. According to the first information report (FIR), Gharat paid Rs 50,000. But a few months later, Chandanshive separately approached Gharat and demanded Rs 1 lakh. The developer paid Rs 10,000.

Earlier this month, Mhaske allegedly tried to extract more money by saying that Shetty and Chandanshive were part of his group.

This time, Gharat alerted the Mulund police, who arrested the three men. Cops sought their remand for seven days, saying they wanted to find out if the trio was part of a bigger extortion ring that targeted builders. The court granted the request.