MUMBAI: A businessman from Vikhroli has been arrested by the crime branch for allegedly abetting gangster Prasad Pujari by passing on contact details of a builder whom the gangster called up and threatened. Sunil Narayan Aagane (55) was arrested on Saturday.
Aagane allegedly tried to play intermediary by meeting the builder and trying to facilitate a phone chat between the builder and gangster, the police said.
Last week, two police informers — Salim Penwala alias Maharaj and Faiyyaz Ibrahim Sannata — were arrested for allegedly passing on a builder’s phone numbers to gangster Ejaz Lakdawala.
In the latest case, the developer had taken up a housing redevelopment project in Vikhroli. Soon after his company demolished the old building last June, he started receiving calls from an international cellphone number and the caller demanded Rs 1 crore.
A police source said that the builder told the caller that he would not be able to pay up as much, claiming that redevelopment projects do not rake in too much money and also said that business had been bad in recent times. “At this, the gangster said that the builder should pay the amount before he started work the project,” said the source.
Subsequent calls from the international number were not answered by the builder, said the source, spurring Aagane to meet the builder last week.
“Aagane asked him not to ignore calls from the international number and even dialled the gangster from his [Aagane’s] phone,” said the source. “The builder told him he would speak to the gangster later.”
By evening the gangster called up the builder, said the source. He threatened him to pay and said that the builder would meet the fate of a political leader who had been fired at recently.
The builder then lodged a police complaint. Aagane was picked up from Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli. The police claimed that Aagane has admitted to having met the builder at the gangster’s behest. He has also confessed that he had passed on the builder’s number and provided him with updates about the redevelopment project, said a police source.
Aagane allegedly tried to play intermediary by meeting the builder and trying to facilitate a phone chat between the builder and gangster, the police said.
Last week, two police informers — Salim Penwala alias Maharaj and Faiyyaz Ibrahim Sannata — were arrested for allegedly passing on a builder’s phone numbers to gangster Ejaz Lakdawala.
In the latest case, the developer had taken up a housing redevelopment project in Vikhroli. Soon after his company demolished the old building last June, he started receiving calls from an international cellphone number and the caller demanded Rs 1 crore.
A police source said that the builder told the caller that he would not be able to pay up as much, claiming that redevelopment projects do not rake in too much money and also said that business had been bad in recent times. “At this, the gangster said that the builder should pay the amount before he started work the project,” said the source.
Subsequent calls from the international number were not answered by the builder, said the source, spurring Aagane to meet the builder last week.
“Aagane asked him not to ignore calls from the international number and even dialled the gangster from his [Aagane’s] phone,” said the source. “The builder told him he would speak to the gangster later.”
By evening the gangster called up the builder, said the source. He threatened him to pay and said that the builder would meet the fate of a political leader who had been fired at recently.
The builder then lodged a police complaint. Aagane was picked up from Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli. The police claimed that Aagane has admitted to having met the builder at the gangster’s behest. He has also confessed that he had passed on the builder’s number and provided him with updates about the redevelopment project, said a police source.
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