A villager faced extortion case for demanding money from plant owner in Thane district. Police have registered a criminal case against the villager in Thane district for asking a ready mix concrete (RMC) plant owner to purchase water from him or else pay Rs 40,000 per month for operating his facility, an official said on Tuesday, reported news agency PTI.

After the plant owner refused to concede his demand, the accused, Madhukar Mali, on Monday ransacked the RMC unit`s office, said the official of the Kongaon police station, reported PTI.

Mali also damaged a water tanker parked outside the facility, he said, reported PTI.

Based on a complaint, the accused, a resident of Pimplas village under Bhiwandi taluka, was booked under IPC sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 427 (mischief causing damage), said the police official, reported PTI.

In another case, Police have rescued 13 persons employed as bonded labourers in Shrigonda taluka of Maharashtra`s Ahmednagar district, and arrested five of the 11 gang members in this connection, an official said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

The victims are homeless people whom the gang members brought to Belvandi in Shrigonda from various railway stations to carry out their household tasks, he said, reported PTI.

This came to light days after the body of an unidentified man was found stuffed in a bag near Suregaon village in Ahmednagar on November 30, reported PTI.

Ahmednagar district Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ola said that while probing the murder, they received a tip-off that a gang had employed several persons as bonded labourers to carry out their household work, to rear cattle and to work in the farm, reported PTI.

The victims were homeless people who the accused found at various railway stations in the country. The accused were in the habit of beating up the victims. They would also not offer food to them many a time, and lace their eatables with ganja, he said, reported PTI.

Whenever the gang members were away to commit crimes like dacoity and house break-ins, the victims used to do the domestic chores, the official said, reported PTI.

After the police received information about the gang, they formed four teams to trace them and nabbed five out of the total 11members, reported PTI.

“The police raided eight locations and rescued 13 bonded labourers, including a woman,” he said, reported PTI.

Offences under sections 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc), 342 (wrongful confinement), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was registered against them, he said, reported PTI.

The 11 accused were identified as Charusheeela Raghunath Chavan, Raghunath Chavan, Zilur Chavan, Amol Giriraj Bhosale, Aba Jalindar Kale, Dalkush Mukinda Kale, Nandu Kilchand Ghavane, Sagar Sudham Gavhane, Abbas Sambaji Gavhane, Sachin Jaisingh Gavhane, and Kaluram Patilba Pawar, the official said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)

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