Two-third are amateurs

Munna Nair, a Keralite, came to Mumbai with stars in his eyes but ended up becoming a coconut vendor at Nariman Point. He might have remained that for life if he hadn8217;t overheard two of his customers discussing the strategies of extortion in Tamil, a language which he understood well. This gave him an idea. Since he could not speak fluent Hindi and hence couldn8217;t threaten over the phone, he wrote a letter in Malayalam to a businessman in Antop Hill.

Claiming to be from the Chhota Rajan gang, Nair demanded Rs 50,000 from the businessman, instructing him to drop the money at a nearby sugarcane juice shop in the area. The businessmancontacted the police who laid a trap at the juice shop arresting Nair.

Peter D8217;costa, a science graduate, worked as an executive in a reputed firm. After losing his job eight months ago and failing to get another he turned to extortion for a quick buck. Claiming to be from the Arun Gawli gang, he phoned a jeweller in central Mumbai asking for Rs 5 lakh. The jeweller did the wisest thing and contacted the anti-extortion cell of the crime branch. The cops traced the calls to a public telephone booth and laid a trap to apprehend D8217;Costa while he was threatening the jeweller over the phone. Subsequent interrogation revealed that he had no previous criminal record.

Krishnamurthy was another educated man who for quick money took to extortion. He also claimed to be from the Arun Gawli gang and asked a jeweller from Byculla to get Rs 2 lakh to Dongri. He was arrested there. Krishnamurthy was so confident of succeeding that he employed two people to assist him. In his statement, he admitted that hehad never seen Dagdi Chawl, let alone know the don.

Another youth Sunil Tawde, arrested from Bhandup, also claimed to be from the Gawli gang. Tawde had managed to extract Rs 2 lakh from a businessman but when he demanded another Rs 3 lakh, the victim approached the police. Tawde was arrested just a day before his marriage for which he needed money.

But it8217;s not only the educated yet unemployed youth who are joining the fray. Earlier this month, the crime branch arrested two men for threatening a cloth merchant and demanding Rs 1 crore from him. The duo claimed to be part of Bahrain-based Ali Budesh8217;s gang. However, after investigations, a hotelier, Dinesh Shetty, was also found to be associated with them. Shetty was a partner in Chandni Bar and Restaurant at Malad and to sound credible while making demands, Shetty identified himself as Rashid Bhai.

The latest such incident came to light last week, when an ex-collegian from the Mithibai College was arrested by the anti-extortion cell of thenorth-west region. Vinod Sharma, 26, happened to learn from his former girlfriend that her boss was a prosperous businessman. Sharma took the numbers from her and began threatening her exporter boss and demanded Rs 2 crore from him. However, the police managed to arrest him when he came to collect Rs 25 lakh from the businessman at Western Express Highway.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Sharma hailed from a respectable family. His father Kedarnath Sharma and brothers were in courier business which was going through a rough patch. Sharma needed money for expansion and improvement when he hit upon the idea of extortion after meeting his girlfriend.

According to police commissioner R H Mendonca most of the time it is amateurs who take advantage of the scare in the city and approach businessmen. The highly trained personnel in the anti-extortion cell can easily distinguish amateurs from hardened criminals, the police chief said. Mendonca has urged the business community to approach them themoment they receive any threatening call.