4 booked for extorting in name of Arun Gawli

Bandra police has registered a FIR against four people —- including a developer and a woman —- after Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) managing director, R. Mopalwar, alleged that three of them recently came to his office and tried to extort money to the tune of '50 to '60 lakh by using incarcerated gangster, Arun Gawli’s name.

According to Bandra police, three of the four accused were alleged acquaintances of Mr Mopalwar’s wife and were her former business partners. The police is verifying whether the accused had any connection with Gawli, and is yet to make any arrest in the case. Mr Mopalwar has deployed two private security guards outside his office after the incident which occurred on October 25.

A Bandra police official said that the FIR was registered on Monday after receipt of Mr Mopalwar’s complaint. “The complainant said that the incident took place on October 25. The three accused came to his office and warned Mr Mopalwar to give them Rs 50 to Rs 60 lakh. The trio threatened Mr Mopalwar with dire consequences if the payment was not made,” said the official.

Senior police inspector, Bandra police station, Pandit Thakare, confirmed that a FIR had been registered. “The police will verify details about the accused persons who allegedly made an extortion threat by dropping Gawli’s name.” Police sources said that one of the four accused, developer Satish Mangela, allegedly used to run a business with Mr Mopalkar’s wife in the past. “Mr Mopalwar’s wife knows two of the four accused, Mangela and Sweta Lad, due to a past business connection. But the said business activity had shut down due to some reason. Ramchandra Jadhav, one of the four accused, and another accused who is still unidentified in the case was there when Mr Mopalwar was threatened,” said a police source.