5 Guru Satam aides arrested for threatening builder in Mumbai

Five people, who police claimed were aides of fugitive gangster Guru Satam, were today arrested for allegedly threatening a builder and trying to extort money from him.

Police identified the five, arrested by the Anti Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Police's Crime Branch, as Amol Vichare, Bharat Solanki, Rajesh Ambre, Bipin Dhotre and Dipak Lodhia.

"We have recovered two revolvers, five live cartridges and 11 mobile phones from the accused. The builder was receiving threat calls from abroad in the name of Guru Satam for the last few years," said Dilip Sawant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).

He said that gang members started visiting the builder's construction site after he began ignoring these threat calls.

The builder lodged a complaint with the AEC following which five members of the gang were arrested, he informed.

Another official said that investigations had revealed that one of the persons arrested, Bipin Dhotre, had sent Rs 60 lakh abroad to Satam.

Another accused, Rajesh Ambre, was in regular touch with Satam while Vichare had spent ten years in jail in connection with a murder case, the official said.

The official said that accused Lodhia would provide Satam information about builders while Solanki would threaten them.

The five were remanded in police custody till July 21, an official said.