Mumbai: Man held for passing on hoteliers' numbers to gangster

A man has been arrested for allegedly passing on numbers and details of hoteliers to fugitive gangster Suresh Pujari to enable the latter to make extortion calls, police said on Saturday.

Navi Mumbai resident Ravindra Pujari was arrested by the Mumbai police's Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) on Friday, an official said.

"A prominent hotelier was getting calls since October 25 from Suresh Pujari, demanding Rs 10 lakh. The gangster threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay up," the official said.

After the hotelier approached the AEC, a case was registered against Suresh Pujari, suspected to be running his gang from abroad, the official said.

"Our probe of the number from which the hotelier was getting threat calls, and information gathered from the field, led us to accused Ravindra Pujari," he said.

The Navi Mumbai resident was produced in court which remanded him in police custody till Wednesday, he added.