04 December,2023 06:23 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Mumbai Police's crime branch has apprehended a 22-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh, bringing the total number of arrests to six in connection with the kidnapping of a Mumbai-based builder by a gang demanding a Rs 10 crore ransom last month, an official told PTI on Monday.
According to the report, the official confirmed that the accused, who goes by Mazhar Shakir, popularly known as Shanu Shah, was taken into custody on Saturday by Anti-Extortion Cell officials from Dhar, the official confirmed.
On November 23, the gang forcibly removed the builder from the Mazgaon neighbourhood of Mumbai, and they drove off with him. They held him captive in suburban Govandi until the police rescued him on November 25 after a traumatic ordeal, demanding a hefty ransom for his safe release.
Initially, a case filed at the Byculla police station resulted in the arrest of five people, including gangster Iliyas Bachkana. A search was conducted to find Shanu Shah after it became clear during questioning that he was involved in the crime.
Shah was apprehended by a Mumbai Police team after they tracked his whereabouts to Dhar and carried out further investigation.
According to the previous report in mid-day, the builder was kidnapped by a notorious gangster stating that he owed the latter. The builder reportedly faces six criminal charges and they are primarily cheating cases.
In the recent kidnapping, the gang had reportedly lured the builder into a car under the pretence of holding a discussion and abducted him from south Mumbai. They took him to a slum in Govandi where he was confined to a metal shed room. The gangster and one of his associates were arrested by the police after they attempted to escape.
They were initially booked for extortion but the accused gangster refuting it claimed that Ansari, the builder, owed him money.
Anti-Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch carried out the rescue operation and the entire police force was mobilised since the accused was infamous and the authorities feared Ansari's life was at risk which could spread panic in the city.
According to the crime branch, three teams executed the rescue mission, freeing Rahman Ansari and apprehending the accused and an accomplice from the Govandi slums.
