A businessman, who suffered losses sustained in Dubai, was arrested from suburban Vile Parle here today, for allegedly threatening another businessman in a bid to extort Rs 3 lakh by threatening to kill him, in connivance with his accomplices in Pakistan and Dubai, police said.
The accused, Hiten Mehta (35), was apprehended from suburban Vile Parle after a trap was laid by cops disguised as auto-rickshaw drivers and hawkers, a police officer said.
According to Senior Inspector Vinayak Vats of the Anti-Extortion Cell (ANC) of the crime branch, the victim who is a distributor of cosmetics, had received extortion calls from Pakistan for the past few days.
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"The caller who identified himself as Afzal Khan, threatened the victim and asked him to shell out Rs 10 lakh or else, face death," Vast said.
Later, the victim began receiving calls from Dubai from a lady who introduced herself as "Sana" and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not heed Afzal's orders, the police said.
After the victim agreed to pay Rs 3 lakh, the accused Hiten Mehta from Mumbai began keeping in touch with him on behalf of "Afzal" and "Sana".
The victim then approached police and as per police directions, the complainant asked Mehta to reach Vile Parle to collect the cash. When Mehta reached the place yesterday, he was arrested by the police.
According to the police, Mehta supplies bed, bath and table linen to hotels and hospitals under the name A & A Mehta Linen Pvt Ltd. He had been to Dubai in 2011 and 2012, where he suffered losses in his business.
Subsequently, he returned to Mumbai, where he as well as his accomplices "Afzal" and "Sana" decided to extort money from the victim, since the trio was looking for easy money.
The police is probing how the three accused managed to get the victim's number and know his background.
