A 44-year-old member of fugitive Ravi Pujari's gang has been arrested while two country-made pistols and 10 live rounds, allegedly meant to be delivered to another gang member in suburban Chembur, were seized from him, police said today.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of crime branch unit VI laid a trap near Amardham crematorium in Chembur last evening when the accused Kailash Pradhan was found moving suspiciously.
Two country-made revolvers and 10 live rounds were recovered from his possession, crime branch unit VI senior inspector Sripat Kale said.
Pradhan, hailing from Odisha, is a resident of Ambarnath in neighbouring Thane district for the past two decades.
Kale said "Pradhan had been in touch with Ravi Pujari and his associate Suresh Pujari, who operate from Dubai, for the past four months. Pradhan has been tasked to provide the phone numbers of rich people, including builders."
According to police, Pradhan was given about Rs 20,000 to 25,000 by Pujari gang members for the work.
Pradhan, a carpenter by profession, used to get contracts of making furniture for under-construction buildings. When asked by Pujari gang, he allegedly used to take the numbers of persons concerned in builders' offices and then share those details with the gang, police said.
The gang uses such numbers for extortion purposes, they added.
