THANE: The anti-extortion cell of Maharashtras Thane crime branch arrested a 50-year-old builder-cum-Instagram influencer with two country-made pistols and seven bullets. He was also cheated of Rs 40 lakh by fake cops of which four are arrested by the sleuths. The accused has been identified as Surendra Patil, a resident of Dombivali and the police said that he had played a role as child artist in yesteryear TV serial Ramayana serial, said Shivraj Patil, the deputy commissioner of police (crime).Patil, last November, had made an Instagram reel by sitting on an officers chair at Manpada police station that had gone viral. He was subsequently booked.Patil added that the senior inspector of anti-extortion cell Shekhar Bagde had the information that an illegal weapon was in his possession and inside the car of the Patil, hence they laid a trap and arrested him and found the country-made pistols and seven bullets. During interrogation, the police learned that eight suspects had offered him Rs 1.60 crore counterfeit currency notes in exchange of Rs 40 lakh genuine currency notes and had called him at a farm house in Murbad area. As soon as came driving at specific location, over half a dozen accused posing as policemen intercepted him and under the guise of a raid they fled away with the Rs 40 lakh cash. He had procured the countrymade pistols in a bid to protect himself incase anything goes wrong while dealing with the people exchanging the cash, said Bagde.The police then registered a separate case in which the four accused were arrested and launched to nab four others who cheated Patil.We have recovered a cash of Rs 14 lakh that the four accused had fled away with and also seized the Mercedes car which is around Rs 50 lakh," said the police officer.

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