MUMBAI: More than two months after a Kandivli-based
businessman received a
parcel containing a
bullet and a note demanding Rs 5 crore, police have
arrested one of his relatives on extortion charges. An employee of the
relative was also held for aiding him.
The case dates back to May 27. The businessman was home when the watchman of his housing society arrived with a parcel containing a bullet and a note. The businessman was concerned as he opened the note and read the demand for money. From time to time thereafter, the businessman received phone calls from different phone numbers demanding Rs 5 crore.
A police team headed by senior inspector Nitin Pondkule and inspector Ravi Adane tracked down each of these calls. They found that most of the calls were made from phone numbers belonging to street vendors. Investigators also examined CCTV footage of all the locations from where the calls were made.
Around 10am on Tuesday, the businessman got yet another call, which was traced to Mulund and the number belonged to a snack vendor. The police took the vendor into confidence and obtained the caller’s description. A team rushed to the location at Mulund and took the help of local police as well as a few citizens to track down the accused, who led them to his associate.
The two accused have been identified as Mahesh Bhanushali and Surendra Yadav. Both are Kalwa residents. “Bhanushali was the businessman’s relative and was aware that the latter was well-off. Bhanushali had the businessman’s phone number. He or his employee (Yadav) would approach street vendors and request to use their phones for making calls, without divulging whom they were calling and why,” said a police officer.
Bhanushali worked as a grocer and wanted to make a quick buck. “Both the accused were produced before a magistrate court on Wednesday,” said DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar.
Representative Photo
