Juhu police arrest 2 men for extortion bid

The Juhu police on Friday night arrested two men, including a former call centre employee from Khar, for allegedly demanding an extortion of Rs10 lakh from a businessman.

On Friday morning, the businessman (his name has been withheld to protect identity) received a phone call from an unknown person who claimed that he had received a supari (contract) to kill his wife, the police said.

“The caller told the businessman to pay Rs10 lakh if he wanted to see his wife alive. Initially, he did not take the call seriously. But, when he got three to four calls from the same person from different public call offices, he reported the matter to the police,” said an officer from Juhu police station on condition of anonymity.

The police then instructed the Juhu businessman to call the extortionist to Colgate Ground area in Khar to collect the money at 11pm.

The police laid a trap and nabbed Manoj Sukhoi Vishwakarma and Navin Ramnaresh Vishwakarma.

“Manoj, who is a carpenter, had worked at the victim’s residence two months ago. He had hatched the plan to extort from him and roped in Navin, a former call centre employee, for the job,” said the officer.

The police claim that the duo owed people money and so decided to demand extortion to get easy money.