Alleged gangster Santosh Shetty's close confidant Anil Chander, against whom a Look Out Notice was served, has been arrested from the IGI airport in Delhi in connection with a 2012 extortion case involving a city-based businessman and his son, police said today.
54-year-old Chander was intercepted yesterday by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport on landing from Thailand, after it emerged that a Look Out Notice was issued against him by Mumbai Police.
"We were informed about this (Chander's detention) and a team rushed to Delhi. Subsequently, Chander has been arrested in the extortion case registered by a real estate businessman in January 2012," Senior Inspector at the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) Vinayak Vast said.
According to officials, Chander was closely associated with Shetty, who had been deported here in March 2012 and presently lodged in a Mumbai jail. Shetty was involved in several cases including murder, kidnapping and extortion.
Chander was produced before a MCOCA court today which remanded him in police custody till July 14, the officer said.
Elaborating the extortion case, Police Inspector Sudhir Dalvi said the businessman and his son were lured by Shetty and his associates holed up in Mumbai, stating that the two would be helped getting finance anything between Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore.
"Falling into their trap, the father-son duo flew to Bangkok to avail the cash in September 2010. However, the duo was kidnapped and tortured by Chander and his associates and tried to extort Rs 15 crore. The victim agreed to pay the cash after returning to Mumbai," Dalvi said.
Frightened, the duo did not lodge a complaint after their return. However, they mustered courage and complained to the AEC in January 2012, without paying the ransom. Some more accused are still wanted in the case.
