₹164 cr extortion bid on developer: Valuables worth ₹13.63 cr seized from Hiren Bhagat

Crime branch also found documents relating to several cases being investigated by ED and the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police from Bhagat’s residence.

Mumbai: The crime branch has recovered cash and valuables worth ₹13.63 crore from Khar resident Hiren Bhagat, the sixth accused arrested in the ₹164 crore extortion bid on a city developer. The gang had tried to extort money from the developer by threatening to get him booked in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case. The crime branch has also found documents relating to several cases being investigated by the ED and the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police from Bhagat’s residence.

The Bandra police station had, on January 10, registered the FIR in connection with the extortion case, based on a complaint by the developer. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

On Tuesday, Bhagat, who was arrested on January 31, was produced in court, which extended his police remand till February 12. While seeking extension of his remand, the police informed the court that they had recovered property worth ₹13.63 crore from Bhagat’s flat, his driver’s residence and bank lockers in his sister’s name.

A search was conducted at Bhagat’s residence based on details obtained during his interrogation, during which police seized three weapons along with 150 live cartridges, gold ornaments, expensive watches, and Indian and foreign currency worth ₹5.13 crore, besides a walkie talkie and a radio frequency detector, the police stated.

During further investigation, the police recorded the statement of Hiren Bhagat’s sister Runali Bhagat and found that the valuables kept in the bank locker in her name belonged to her brother, they told the court. The police claimed that during the search, they found two bank accounts in Karnataka Bank in his sister’s name, and seized gold worth ₹7.19 crore, ₹67 lakh in Indian currency, ₹56.96 lakh in foreign currency, expensive watches and several agreements from the Bandra branch of the bank. Hiren Bhagat also purchased a flat worth ₹3.5 crore in Dubai in his sister’s name and the information was being verified, said police.

“Bhagat’s phone is locked, so we are taking the help of cyber experts and expect sizable amount of evidence to be extracted from the device,” said a police officer from unit 9 of the crime branch.

The Bandra police station had, on January 10, registered the FIR in connection with the extortion case, based on a complaint by the developer. Five accused persons – Rajendra Shirsath, 59; Rakesh Anand Kumar Kediya, 56; Kalpesh Bhosle, 50; Avnish Shivkant Dubey, 46; Amay Sawekar – were arrested on January 21 and 22 after unit 9 of the crime branch started investigation.

The sixth accused, Hiren Bhagat was hiding in Delhi and was apprehended at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport when he arrived in Mumbai on January 31, said police. Satish Dhanuka, a developer and the main accused in the extortion bid, is still at large and the police have launched a manhunt, said officials.