A gang of former clean-up marshals allegedly reinvented themselves as extortionists in Dharavi, posing as BMC officials and threatening small industrial units with fake child labour cases. The three accused, along with an unidentified male accomplice, allegedly extorted about Rs 80,000 in a single day in October, collecting money from multiple shopkeepers across Rajiv Gandhi Nagar and Ambedkar Chawl. Their year-long racket collapsed when local businessmen demanded to see their ID cards, exposing the fraud.

Dharavi police said the gang, identified as Dipali Deepak Dalvi, 24, Megha Sonawane, 42, Hanumanta Nagappa Kunchikurve, 36, and another unknown man, targeted small units where children happened to be present. They would threaten immediate action from the BMC unless money was paid on the spot.