‘Pujari aide’ killed in encounter turned to extortion after share market loss: Cops

“After being released on bail,Dengale had gone back to his family home in Purna tehsil,Parbhani. On Thursday evening,I received a call from him claiming that he was in Mumbai. He told me that he wanted to stay away from the police and had come to Mumbai for a job. I dissuaded him from staying back for a long time and he had assured me that he didn’t want to get into any trouble,” said advocate Yogesh Thorat,an Aurangabad-based lawyer who was defending Dengale in all his cases.

Dengale had allegedly denied having any connection with Ravi Pujari or his gang,but had admitted that a desire to earn quick bucks had given him the idea that maybe by creating a fear psychosis by using Pujari’s name,he would be able to extort money.

“He had come to Mumbai around two years back with his wife and a child and had worked as a technician in a telecommunications company. However,he lost his money and some amount of his parents’ savings in share market. After getting the idea of extorting as a Pujari aide,he visited the shops and offices of businessmen as a client and took their cards. He had procured a SIM card using fake documents and called around 7 to 8 businessmen and builders from that number,” said Thorat.

The son of a retired railway employee,Dengale had reportedly asked his family for monetary help to furnish his bail amount but was shunned by them. However,after he spent three months in jail,his father Appasaheb Dengale had furnished the bail amount. A few weeks later,on Saturday,Appasaheb was at J J Hospital to claim his son’s body.

“When he left a few days back,he said he is going to Aurangabad to look for job opportunities. We don’t know where he worked in Mumbai,who his friends were or what he did,” said his father.

According to officials in the investigating team,his father was shocked when he learnt about Dengale entering the city limits without him. With four cases chargesheeted against Dengale,the law required him to be accompanied by a family member and a lawyer at all times. “His father was clearly distraught. Even the surety amount was furnished with the help of a loan. Dengale turned to extortion after he lost Rs 2 lakh in share market. He had taken the money from his father to get into market trading and to set up a small business,” said the officer.

Meanwhile,the Chembur police said they are investigating the SMS received by Dengale while he was at Bhatija’s house on Friday.