‘Special 26’ style fake Income Tax officials kidnap businessman, demand Rs 1 crore

Mumbai, Sep 6 (IANS) A crime resembling the plot of the Bollywood film “Special 26” came to light in Mumbai, where a businessman was kidnapped and threatened with arrest by a gang posing as Income Tax and Crime Branch officials and demanding Rs 1 crore to settle the matter.

The Andheri police have arrested six suspects in connection with the case, while the victim’s former driver has also been found to be involved in the alleged conspiracy.

The driver was reportedly dismissed from his job around a year ago and is suspected to have provided crucial information about the businessman to the other accused.

Following the complaint, the Andheri Police Station team launched an investigation and, on September 4, 2026, registered a case against nine unidentified accused.

Six suspects were subsequently arrested from Mumbai and Pune.

The arrested accused have been identified as Santosh Uday Khopatkar, 37, Vinay Ramesh More, 37, Prem Kishan Sabnani, 50, Pragya Harish Main, 27, Reshma Shamrao Warang, 41, and Sabina Hafiz Shaikh, 48.

The three other accused, identified as Shabina Shaikh, 48, Jitendra More and Ashok Shinde, 57, are currently absconding, and police teams are conducting searches to trace and arrest them.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade said that the police also found that three other similar cases had previously been registered against accused Sabnani.

According to the police, the gang allegedly targeted different individuals in separate incidents and carried out crimes using a similar method.

The incident took place on July 17, 2026.

The victim, identified as 49-year-old Rajkumar Kandasamy, is a businessman from Sakinaka and runs a business dealing in eye equipment in Chakala, Andheri East.

The sequence of events began when the victim’s office employee, Gyan Subhash Nainar, received a panicked phone call informing him that Income Tax and Crime Branch officials had allegedly raided the office.

The fake officials reportedly confiscated the mobile phones of all 11 employees present at the office and disabled the CCTV cameras to prevent the incident from being recorded.

Soon afterwards, an unidentified caller contacted the businessman and claimed to be an Income Tax official.

“I am calling from Income Tax. Your office is being raided. Come immediately, or we will take you away,” the caller allegedly told the businessman.

Alarmed by the threat, the businessman and his wife, Priya, immediately ordered an Uber cab to reach the office. However, when they reached the gate of their residential society, two suspects riding a motorcycle allegedly approached them.

One of the men reportedly showed a fake identity card and claimed to be an Income Tax officer. The accused allegedly threatened the couple and forced them into the cab they had booked. The suspects then allegedly snatched their mobile phones.

While the cab was travelling towards the office, the accused reportedly signalled a female associate and other male accomplices to follow them. The businessman and his wife were subsequently taken to the accused’s office against their will.

When the couple reached the location, six men and three women were allegedly present and introduced themselves as members of an investigation team. One of the accused reportedly produced a fake search warrant and obtained the businessman’s signature on it.

The accused allegedly invoked petty cash regulations and demanded Rs 1.70 lakh in cash from the businessman. They also threatened him with a penalty of Rs 1.44 crore.

Another accused subsequently demanded Rs 1 crore, allegedly claiming that the amount would settle the matter and help the businessman avoid arrest.

When the businessman demanded an official legal notice in connection with the alleged raid, the accused allegedly abused him and threatened him with serious consequences before leaving the premises.

After the accused left, the businessman contacted his chartered accountant and officials of the Income Tax Department. It was only then that he realised that the entire raid was fake and that he had been targeted by a gang impersonating government officials.

Following the revelation, the businessman approached the Andheri Police Station and lodged a complaint, prompting police to register a case and begin a detailed investigation into the alleged kidnapping, impersonation and extortion.

A case was registered against the accused under Sections 204, 205, 333, 140 (2), 127 (1), 351 (2) and 308 (4) of the IPC. After the registration of the case, Assistant Police Inspector Ramdas Kadam and his team examined CCTV footage from around 50 locations as part of efforts to identify and trace the accused.

The investigation led police teams to Mumbai and Pune, where six suspects were arrested. Police are continuing their efforts to locate the three remaining accused.

Further details are awaited.

–IANS

sd/vd