The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Monday convicted gangster Chhota Rajan and three other accused for threatening a builder from Panvel.
The prosecution alleged that the three accused – Suresh Shinde, Laxman Nikam alias Dadaya, and Sumit Vijay Matre threatened Panvel-based builder Nandu Wajekar and attempting to extort ₹26 crore from him. According to the prosecution, the three acted on the instruction of Rajan.
The four accused, including Rajan, have been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
In 2015, Wajekar purchased land in Pune, for which he paid a commission of ₹2 crore to his agent, Parmanand Thakkar, who later asked him for more money, which he did not agree to pay.
Thakkar contacted Rajan to extort money from the builder, after which the gangster sent men to Vajekar’s office. They demanded that he pay ₹26 crore, and when he refused to do the same, they threatened to kill him.
Lawyer Sameer Pradhan, who appeared for Rajan’s henchmen, said, “The court has convicted them for threatening and for demanding extradition money. However, the court has held that the charges under MCOCA were not proved.”
Pradhan said that the accused had been in prison since five years. They would soon move the Bombay high court (HC) against the conviction order.
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