Bengaluru man arrested for allegedly trying to extort Rs 2 crore from Mumbai developer

The accused, Mahesh Pujari (right) Pujari after his arrest

The Malad police arrested a 34-year-old from Bengaluru on Wednesday for allegedly trying to extort Rs 2 crore from a Mumbai-based developer. The accused posed as a member of Kalyan's alias Nanu Bhai's gang. He has been identified as Mahesh Pujari, and works with a well-known cab aggregator. His wife is an actress.

The complainant, a well-known 62-year-old developer, is currently working on an SRA project in Andheri. The police said last year he had received calls from three different international numbers and the callers had demanded Rs 2 crore.

In the name of a gangster

As per the statement given to the police by the complainant, "The caller threatened that if the amount was not paid within a certain time, Kalyan aka Nanu Bhai will shoot me. If I don't die due to Covid-19 during the pandemic, I would surely die by the bullet."

The Malad police registered a case and along with the Anti-Extortion Cell began investigating the matter. Under the guidance of Senior Inspector D Ligade, API Vivek Tambe got the IP address of the caller traced, and then through technical analysis found the IMEI number of the caller's mobile phone. "We caught the accused on Wednesday in Bengaluru," said an officer from Malad police station. During the inquiry it has been revealed that some more people are involved in the crime and the police are looking for them.

Dispute over land

The police said there was some dispute over the land in the developer's ongoing project in Andheri. A mediator between the disputing parties had assured the complainant of resolving the matter, but this did not happen, said an officer.

"A few days later, the developer started receiving extortion calls from unknown international numbers. We have found a diary in the possession of the arrested accused, in which what to say to the builder as a threat has been written. Along with this, the name and mobile number of one person, who had instructed him to make the threat calls were also found in it," said a police officer.

"We have come to know that the conspirator is the same person who had appeared as a mediator to end the dispute for the developer," said another officer. The police are investigating whether Pujari is a member of Kalyan's gang.

"We have arrested the accused under various sections of IPC including extortion. He was produced before the court today, which remanded him in three days' police custody," said Ligade.