Mumbai: Hiren Bhagat booked in fresh extortion case

Hiren Bhagat. File pic

The city crime branch, investigating the alleged activities of a gang led by liaison man Hiren Bhagat, also known as Romi Bhagat, accused of extorting large sums in the name of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), registered a fresh case of extortion against Bhagat on Thursday. This marks the second extortion case registered against him by the crime branch. Earlier, he and five members of his gang were arrested in connection with a case involving a prominent builder from whom they demanded Rs 164 crore to settle matters with the ED.

What has alarmed investigators is the revelation that Bhagat extorted Rs 9 crore from the complainant, the promoter of the leading travel firm whose son was arrested by both the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police and the ED in a money laundering case. The crime branch unit 9 accompanied the complainant to the Bandra police station on Thursday to register his FIR under IPC sections 386 and 506(2) for threats and extortion. Crime branch officials swiftly approached the 37th Metropolitan Magistrate Court seeking Bhagat's production warrant from the Arthur Road jail. They secured Bhagat's custody on Thursday and will present him before the court on Friday.

The complainant, in his FIR, alleged that Bhagat, impersonating an ED officer, approached him promising to resolve his son's ED-related cases in exchange for a substantial sum. Between 2020 and 2022, Bhagat allegedly extorted Rs 9 crore from the complainant and a luxury watch worth Rs 75 lakh and continued to demand more. When the complainant refused to pay further, Bhagat reportedly brandished a weapon and threatened him, according to sources.