With the heat already on, on the Dawood Ibrahim and Ravi Pujari gangs for allegedly threatening builders for extortion, the Mumbai Crime Branch's Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) on Wednesday arrested gangster DK Rao, a former close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan for allegedly threatening an SRA consultant and demanding a sum Rs 50 lakh.
According to the police, in 2013, the complainant was looking forward to develop an SRA project at Antop Hill. For the past one year, Rao, who was then lodged in jail had been threatening the consultant to back out of the project.
Rao wanted to appoint a builder known to him in the construction of the said project, and hence he was forcing the complainant to quit the project.
Later, Rao's aides stalled the project work and the complainant was informed that no further work in the project would be carried out without Rao's permission, police said.
"When Rao came out of bail in July 2016 he began to threaten the complainant. In June this year the complainant was called at Dharavi to meet Rao and was again threatened by Rao, and was asked to leave the project. Rao also demanded an amount of Rs 50 lakh from the victim. Due to this constant pressure the victim approached Dharavi police and lodged a complaint," said Dilip Sawant, Deputy Commissioner Police (detection).
"Our probe is on to ascertain if anyone else is involved in the crime, and more arrests are likely to take place in the case,"he added.
Rao was produced before the court on Thursday and has been remanded to police custody till October 18.
The Mumbai police has urged more complainants to come forward.
Rao has over 20 cases registered against him in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai including extortion, threatening and robberies. He was released from jail last year after being acquitted in an extortion case.
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