Chhota Rajan gang members arrested for threatening developer, demanding 10 cr

Mumbai's crime branch arrested five linked to the Chhota Rajan gang for attempting to extort ₹10 crore from a developer after earlier demands.

MUMBAI: Crime branch’s anti-extortion cell on Wednesday arrested five people, allegedly associated with the Chhota Rajan gang, for threatening and trying to extort ₹10 crore from a developer.

Chhota Rajan gang members arrested for threatening developer, demanding 10 cr

The complainant had paid ₹5 lakh last year, but the accused were demanding more money. The arrested accused are identified as Ganesh Soradi alias Deni alias Dada, 64, Pradeep Yadav, 40, Manish Bharadwaj, 44, Remi Fernandez, 58, and Shashi Kumar Yadav, 46.

The names of two close aides of the jailed gangster - Satish Kalia and Paulson – also feature on the list but are yet to be arrested. Police officials said the complainant had secured development rights of a property in Bandra West and Satish Kaliya allegedly visited the site last year when he had come out on parole and threatened the developer. Kalia is in jail now and police said they will take a production warrant from court to get his custody.

According to the police, the 36-year-old complainant is a resident of Bandra and is an real estate agent. In February last year, he met a woman who owned the 1,300 square metre plot in Bandra West who wanted to sell it for ₹15 crore on the condition that the buyer should bear the legal expenses, fines and document-related charges. The complainant roped in his business partner and obtained development rights of the property. The power of attorney was prepared in March 2023 in the name of the complainant so that he could deal with the buyer, and in June 2023, a developer agreed to develop the plot. A meeting was held between the plot owner, complainant and buyer and after fixing the complainant’s commission at two percent, the agreement of purchase and sale was made, said a police officer.

In July 2023, accused Deni and Yadav met the complainant and inquired who was dealing with the land. Thereafter, Paulson and Satish Kalia also visited the plot. They demanded ₹10 crore as protection money from the complainant and threatened to kill him and the developer.

Fearing for their lives, they decided to pay ₹5 lakh to them.

When the threats did not stop, the complainant approached senior officers at the Crime Branch and registered a case of extortion and threatening at the Bandra police station on Wednesday. A team under the guidance of DCP Datta Nalawade laid a trap and arrested the five accused from the ciry. They were produced in court which remanded them to police custody.