India, Feb. 28 -- A Bhandup man on Wednesday, allegedly posing as a narcotics officer, extorted Rs.40,000 from a 59-year-old man on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) as a fine for chewing tobacco and spitting on the road. After reviewing the CCTV footage, the police identified the accused as Ravi Pandey, 28, and arrested him on Thursday.

According to the police, the complainant, Vasant Mohite, resides in Lokmanya Nagar in Thane (West) with his wife and works in a private firm in the Mahalakshmi area in Mumbai. On Wednesday evening, while returning home from work, he stopped near the Airoli flyover on EEH to chew tobacco. He spat on the side of the road when the accused, Ravi Pandey, confronted him.

Mohite told the police that the accuse...