Thane hotelier gets extortion threats from gangster

A hotelier here has lodged a police complaint alleging that he received extortion threats from fugitive gangster Suresh Pujari, police said on Friday. The complainant is a resident of Balkum and runs a bar-and-restaurant at Wagle Estate in Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said.

The complainant received several calls from Pujari between January 30 and February 3, which he did not attend, it was stated in the complaint. Pujari then allegedly sent him a threatening text message demanding Rs 50 lakh, senior inspector Rajkumar Kothmire said.

When the complainant ignored his message, the fugitive gangster contacted the manager of the hotel owned by the complainant, he added. According to the police, Pujari procures contact details of his targets from local sources and sends his henchmen to collect extortion money.

An case under section 384 (extortion) and other relevant provisions of the IPC has been registered at Shri Nagar police station, city police PRO Sukhada Narkar said. The anti-extortion cell of the Thane crime branch is probing the case, she added..

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