Mumbai Crime: Builder alleges Ravi Pujari's aide extorting him for Rs 5 crore

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A man claiming to be a member of underworld don Ravi Pujari's gang has been incessantly trying to extort a city-based builder, demanding Rs 5 crore, and threatening to kill the builder's family if he doesn't pay up. Fearing for his life, the builder, Mehul Dilip Mehta, 37, has filed an FIR with the local police.

Mehta is a resident of Goregaon East and owns the construction company MDM Realty. As per his statement to the Aarey police, he received the first call on May 18, when he was in Singapore.

"My phone displayed no caller ID or mobile number. I got confused and picked up the call. A person from other end started abusing me and asked for Rs 5 crore," he said. After he returned to India, he received another call on May 29, once again with no caller ID. He recognised the caller as the same man who'd called before.

The man threatened him with abuses, saying he belonged to Ravi Pujari's gang. A scared Mehta arranged for a bodyguard. But on May 31, he got another call saying, "You have arranged security for yourself, but what about your family? Pay Rs 5 crore, else we'll shoot you and your family before June 10." The same call was made on June 2, after which Mehta approached the police on June 3 to register an FIR. "We're investigating the case," said a police official from Aarey police station.

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