Mumbai: Brother of fugitive gangster arrested in extortion case

MUMBAI: Finding a vacuum in the extortion business in the city after the arrest of gangster Ravi Pujari in Senegal last month, other petty criminals have started calling the shots. After allegedly getting threat calls from lesser known criminal Prasad Pujari, a builder in the western suburbs has lodged an extortion complaint against fugitive gangster Ejaz Lakdawala.

The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) on Friday arrested Ejaz's older brother, Akhil Yusuf Lakdawala alias Merchant (51). Last month, the AEC had arrested his cousin, Sameer Lakdawala, who was absconding for five years, in an extortion case. The arrest of a second family member will hit Ejaz's plans to make a comeback on the extortion scene.




Interestingly, Akhil, who was arrested in a similar offence and was booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in 2011, had changed his name to Merchant by issuing a declaration in the Maharashtra Gazette.

According to the police, the complainant in the present case is a builder from Mira Road who has stated Ejaz had been calling him from an international number for the past month and demanding Rs 50 lakh.

"When I stopped taking his calls, he started calling me in my office and sent messages too. He left an abusive message and asked me to call on an international number," the builder stated in his complaint.

Probe has revealed Akhil, who used to work as an estate agent in Mira Road, collected information about targets and passed it on to his brother. "Ejaz would then call up the builder and demand protection money," said Arvind Pawar, investigating officer. DCP (crime) Dilip Sawant said since the accused is a history sheeter, they will invoke MCOCA in this case.

Ejaz, a former member of the Chhota Rajan gang, split to form his own gang in 2000. He is wanted in around two dozen extortion cases, besides attempt to murder and rioting cases. He is rumoured to have been operating from Bangkok.