Thane builder gets extortion threat from gangster Ravi Pujari

A builder in the Mumbra township of Thane district has filed a police complaint, alleging that he has been receiving extortion calls from fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari, an official said.

The builder, in the complaint filed yesterday with the Mumbra police, claimed that since January this year he had received several calls from a person, who identified himself as Pujari and demanded Rs 2 crore from him, he said.

He also alleged that the caller said a rival builder was ready to give Pujari Rs 3 crore to eliminate him and keep him away from a disputed land project, the official at the Mumbra police station said yesterday.

The builder claimed that the caller threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay the money, he said.

The Thane police's anti-extortion cell was probing the builder's complaint, the official added.