Pujari's call lands builder in trouble, police on watch

A Mumbai-based developer, whose name was dropped by fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari while threatening an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has come under the scanner of Thane Crime Branch. The police claimed they would soon arrest the said developer.

On November 3, Thane Police had arrested detective Satish Mangle and his second wife Shraddha for allegedly making an extortion demand from IAS officer Radheyshyam Mopalwar. The police arrested Mangle's alleged associate Atul Tawde in the case the next day. Pujari called Mopalwar on November 12 and told him to withdraw his case against Mangle and demanded Rs 7 crore extortion. Pujari also threatened to kill Mopalwar and his family if he failed to do so.

"Our probe revealed that Pujari in his threat call to Mopalwar had stated that Mopalwar should withdraw the case he had filed against Mangle, prepare an affidavit in this regard and give a copy of it to a Chembur-based developer," said Senior Police Inspector Pradeep Sharma, who also heads Thane Police's Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC).

According to sources from the police, this developer allegedly looks over the forcible eviction of slums and then gives the land to other builders in the city. "We are scrutinising his phone details, and a few other people associated with him are on our radar too. 

On the basis of Pujari's involvement, we had applied MCOCA charges in the case. Our probe revealed that Mangle is a blackmailer," said Sharma.