Mumbai: RTI activist arrested for ₹5cr extortion from MP

India Jan 13, 2026

A Mumbai man, Rushant Jaykumar Wadke, has been caught for allegedly trying to extort ₹5 crore from an Andhra Pradesh MP.
Pretending to be an RTI activist, he threatened to leak sensitive info unless he got paid.
His arrest was made possible thanks to a joint effort by the Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai police.

Robbery at knifepoint led to his capture

Things took a turn when Wadke reportedly robbed the MP's personal assistant of ₹70,000 at knifepoint during a meeting in Medukur.
After the complaint was filed, police tracked him down in south Mumbai and arrested him.
The case highlights how he misused RTI data—and how teamwork between state police brought him in.