The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) suspended Lalsingh Rajpurohit from the party after the Kandivali police arrested him in an extortion case. He allegedly threatened and demanded money from a government contractor. Additionally, another FIR was filed against him for allegedly cheating an elderly woman out of Rs.52 lakh. Rajpurohit was an office-bearer (Vibhag Pramukh) of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) in Malad, Charkop, and Kandivali.
Following The Free Press Journal’s report on March 7, which highlighted the police’s inaction against a Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) office-bearer in an extortion case. He was arrested on Sunday for allegedly threatening a contractor for extortion.
Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre stated, “Lalsingh Rajpurohit, the Vibhag Pramukh of Malad, Charkop, and Kandivali, was immediately suspended from his position after a case was filed against him. When Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde learned about the matter, he ordered the police to take action against Rajpurohit. This action sends a strong message that no party office-bearer will be spared if they engage in wrongdoing.”
Activist Anjali Damania commented, “Walmik Karad is not only in Beed; there is another Walmik Karad in Mumbai as well. Several FIRs have been filed against Lalsingh Rajpurohit. This man has forcibly taken possession of citizens’ houses and shops, yet the police failed to act. Rajpurohit harassed the Pai family. He tried to cheat them, and when they approached the police, no case was filed. I personally contacted DCM Shinde and the DCP, but Rajpurohit refused to return the shop to the Pai family. The police only registered the case after DCM Shinde intervened.”
On Monday, the police produced Rajpurohit before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Borivali, which remanded him to police custody until March 14.
The police had registered an FIR on December 28 against Rajpurohit and five other political workers for allegedly demanding extortion from a road construction contractor. The accused were identified as Lalsingh Rajpurohit, Ganesh Pawar, Pinto Jaiswal, Vikas Gupta, Nilesh Jaiswal, and Suresh Shah. In this case, two of the accused were arrested and later granted bail.
The incident occurred on December 27 at 1:30 p.m. when the accused summoned the contractor to their office, threatened him, and demanded Rs.5 lakh before allowing the work to proceed.
According to the FIR, the complainant, Ashish Malha, 29, a resident of Santacruz West, works as a civil engineer for BSCPL Infrastructure Ltd. The company had secured a contract to construct a cement road in Irani Wadi, R Ward. Malha stated that on December 27, at 1:30 p.m., around 20 to 25 workers gathered at Irani Wadi, Road No. 3, where they assaulted company engineers Vishwanath Chaurasia and Vineet Singh with fists and sticks
In another case, complainant Sushma Pai, 62, a resident of Borivali, alleged that in 2021, she wanted to sell her shop to raise funds for her paralysed husband, Dattaram Pai’s, treatment. She struck a deal with Rajpurohit for Rs.52 lakh. However, after paying a small token amount, Rajpurohit took possession of the shop, Pai said.
When the Pai family did not receive the full payment within the agreed timeframe, they visited Rajpurohit’s office in February 2022 to demand the money. Rajpurohit allegedly told them that he did not have the funds but would pay later. As the Pai family urgently needed the money for medical treatment, they insisted that he either pay the amount or return the shop. Following the FPJ report on March 7 that the police failed to file the case, on the same day evening the police registered the case against Rajpurohit for allegedly cheating.
