Pimpri traders foil extortion bid

A group of traders successfully thwarted an attempt of extortion by certain officials posing as members of copyright office. The incident occurred on Thursday at around 8:30 pm at Pimpri marketplace.

According to the authorities, four individuals entered the marketplace on the pretext of conducting and checking copyright raids, claiming they had received reports of counterfeit goods.

Due to the festive season, the market is crowded. Taking advantage of this, the accused tried to threaten the traders and extort money from them. To protest these fake officials, traders gathered and shut down the market as a part of their protest.

Shrichand Asvani, president of the Pimpri Traders Association, along with former municipal standing committee chairperson Simatai Sawale and former corporator Dhanna Asvani rushed to the spot and busted the fake racket. When officials asked them questions, the accused fled from the spot.

Asvani said, “During conducting such raids, representatives of the said company should be present. However, no such representative was present during the incident, and when questioned the officials were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation.’’

Former municipal standing committee chairperson Simatai Sawale said, any attempts to harass traders under false raids will not be tolerated. She further told that they will approach the police for further necessary actions.