Maha: Lawyer, his brother booked for holding 2 tribal men captive for months over land compensation

Police have registered a case against a lawyer and his brother at Shahapur in Thane district for allegedly kidnapping and holding two tribal men captive for two months, asking them to pay a portion of the land compensation money to them, an official said on Saturday.

The case has been registered against the accused, identified as Vitthal Desle, an advocate, and his brother Dhanaji Desle of Khanivare village in Murbad tehsil, by Thane district rural police. The accused are on the run, he said. The two tribal men, who are siblings from Poklyachi Wadi in Shahapur, have lodged a complaint against the accused duo.

As per the complaint, the land owned by the victims have been acquired by the government for a dam project. The advocate and his brother approached the tribal siblings with a promise that they would help them get suitable compensation for their land. On July 21, they took the villagers to their house on the pretext of discussing the matter.

However, they held them captive till September 23, police said.

The accused sought 60 per cent of the compensation amount that the tribal brothers were to receive. They threatened the victims that if they tried to approach the police, they would be killed, the complaint said.

On September 23, the accused brought the victims to the registrar’s office and asked them to sign certain documents, which the latter refused to do. At that time, the family members of the victims rescued the duo.

Six days later, they lodged the complaint, police said.

The accused have been booked under IPC sections 356 ( (kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and also sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Kinhavali police station.