Arrested Chota Rajan man has close ties with senior NCP leader: Police

Chota Rajan gang member Keshav Bhange, who was arrested a few days back, has close ties with a senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader fron Navi Mumbai, informed the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday.

Bhange, along with three others, was arrested for allegedly threatening and extorting money from the family of a Dahisar-based chartered accountant-developer.

According to AEC officers, Bhange, a Navi Mumbai resident, has been an active member of the Rajan gang and worked for Aftab Alam alias Haji, a very close aide of Rajan. "Our investigation has revealed that Bhange has been close to a senior NCP leader; there are a number of photographs of them together," said an officer.

"We have also come to know that during elections he had carried out some small work for the politician and has been in touch with people close to him."

The AEC has started making inquiries into the extent of connection Bhange shares with the politician and the latter's contacts. "We have found photographs that show him with important political figures in Navi Mumbai. We are looking into how close their ties are."

The AEC has arrested six people in the extortion case. Its officers said Bhange and his two associates from Navi Mumbai, Prashant Muliye and Nadeem Kazi, would roam around Navi Mumbai as real estate agents and collect information about new housing projects there, which they would pass on to Haji, who would later make the extortion calls.