PANJIM, AUG 10
Goa Shiv Sena chief Upendra Gaonkar and his deputy Umesh Salgaonkar were arrested on charges of extortion, late Tuesday evening. The arrests were made based on a complaint by Neo Majestic Hotel at Porvorim that the pair demanded extortion money of Rs 25 lakh which was reduced to Rs 3 lakh, Deputy Superintendent of Police P L Mapari said.
“The complaint alleged that the Shiv Sainiks demanded extortion fee of Rs 25 lakh first, which was later reduced to Rs 15 lakh and finally Rs 3 lakh,” the officer said referring to the complaint filed by chartered accountant and consultant of Neo Majestic Shrinivas Nayak.
The complaint letter further stated, when Salgaonkar approached Nayak demanding money on Monday, the latter requested a day to consult his superiors to fulfill the demand. Granting the time requested, Salgaonkar contacted the Majestic official on Tuesday evening to collect the amount.
“He was called to the hotel and paid Rs 50,000 as the first installment of the agreed amount. Before this, Nayak expressed skepticism, after which Salgaonkar contacted Gaonkar, who emerged before the official confirming the demand. Nayak thereafter filed a complaint with the Porvorim police,” informed the officer.
Shiv Sainiks may face further embarrassment for it is reportedly learnt that the hotel paid a monthly amount of Rs 5000 towards their demands, a fact confirmed by DySP Mapari.
