2 arrested for trying to extort Rs50 lakh from businessman

Officials of the anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the Mumbai crime branch arrested two people for trying to extort Rs50 lakh from a businessman in the city.

Officials of the anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the Mumbai crime branch arrested two people for trying to extort Rs50 lakh from a businessman in the city.

The accused (who said he was gangster Suresh Poojari) called the businessman multiple times. Later, he called from local number and threatened to bump off the businessman if he did not pay him the money soon, said a crime branch officer. (HT)

The complainant lives in Saki Naka and has a business of selling and renting invertors and batteries. He said in his complaint that he received a call from an international number on July 30 and the caller identified himself as gangster Suresh Poojari and demanded Rs50 lakh from him.

The arrested accused were later identified by the police as Ashraf Ali Mohammad Saheb alias Ashok, 44, and Radhekrishna Tripathi, 50. Ashraf is a resident of Vikhroli and used to run a hotel that had suffered losses and closed down a few months ago. He was allegedly in touch with gangster Suresh Poojari, said an AEC official.

The second accused, Radhekrishna, a resident of Bandra, was a business partner of the complainant. He had an issue with the complainant and wanted to take revenge, police said. He knew Ashraf through a common friend and asked his help to teach a lesson to the complainant. Radhekrishna gave the businessman’s number to Ashraf, who forwarded it to Poojari and Radhekrishna also gave the complainant’s business details, said AEC official.

According to the police, the complainant stopped picking up the international phone calls and reported the matter to Saki Naka police station. The accused called the businessman multiple times. Later, he called from local number and threatened to bump off the businessman if he did not pay him money soon, said a crime branch officer.

The case was transferred to AEC for investigation. “Following technical evidence, we nabbed Ashraf and recovered two mobile phones and SIM card which was used for threatening the businessman”, said official.

During investigations, police found that Ashraf was in touch with Poojari and they also nabbed Radhekrishna on Tuesday after interrogating Ashraf.