Pune MCOCA court acquits Nilesh Ghaywal and all others in extortion case

A special MCOCA court in Pune has acquitted notorious gangster Nilesh Ghaywal and all other accused in an extortion case. The case was registered on the allegation that extortion was demanded while Ghaywal was in jail. During the trial, the complainant retracted his initial allegations. The other witnesses and panch witnesses also did not support the prosecution's version. The court delivered the verdict for lack of evidence.

The case dates to 2020. It was alleged that Ghaywal was in jail at the time and that Santosh Dhumal demanded extortion money from the complainant. Dhumal was said to have demanded the money in the name of providing a jeep for his brother's rally. The Crime Branch had investigated and solved the case, after which action was taken in it under MCOCA.

In court, however, the picture changed. The complainant claimed that the original complaint had been filed under police pressure. In the statement recorded after a High Court order, too, he said that no such incident had taken place. This dealt a major blow to the prosecution's case.

Other witnesses and panch witnesses also did not support the prosecution's allegations. The court held that the available evidence did not prove the charges. The special MCOCA court therefore acquitted all the accused, including Ghaywal.

Ghaywal is reportedly outside the country at present. After incidents of firing and attacks in the Kothrud area in 2025, Pune Police took action against the Ghaywal gang under MCOCA. It is reported that Ghaywal has not been traced by the police since that action.

Action against Ghaywal in several earlier cases is also reported. In 2021 he was arrested in a dacoity case in Pune and booked under MCOCA. It is said that in 2022, while granting him bail, the court directed him to deposit his passport with the police. It is claimed that he did not deposit it and left the country on the same passport. It was also reported earlier that Ghaywal travelled abroad after changing the spelling of his surname in a passport application.

In this extortion case, the complainant and the witnesses did not confirm the allegations and the evidence remained incomplete. On that basis the court held Ghaywal and all the other accused not guilty and acquitted them.