Anti-corruption crusader arrested, remanded to custody

Aurangabad, July 12 (UNI) The chairman of an anti-corruption panel has been arrested here on charges of extortion of Rs 5,000 from a liquor shop owner.

The accused, Prashant Shriram Rathi, chairman of the Bhrashtachar Nirmulan Samiti (BNS), was yesterday produced before the district magistrate, who remanded him to police custody till tomorrow.

The accused and and his two partners had planned to extort Rs 10,000 every month from each liquor shop owner at the Paithan gate so as to allow them to operate late till midnight. They even warned to launch a massive agitation if the shop owners failed to oblige them.

The owner of a liquor shop, who was asked to pay Rs 10,000 to avoid police action, lodged a complaint with police on tuesday.

The police laid a trap yesterday and arrested the BNS chairman while taking part payment of Rs 5000 from the liquor shop owner, while his two accomplices managed to escape.

Rathi is also a member of the All India Human Rights Commission and works as executive editor as well as sub-editor of two different local weekly newspapers. The I-cards of both the weeklies were seized from him, police added.

A case has been registered with the Kranti chowk police and a manhunt to arrest the accomplices is on.

UNI