Mumbai Crime Branch has added the organised crime provision under Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in an alleged ₹11 crore extortion case linked by investigators to members of the Chhota Rajan gang and involving a redevelopment property in Bandra. The Anti-Extortion Cell is also examining whether to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The case concerns five people accused of allegedly attempting to extort money from a developer to allow redevelopment work to proceed on a prime property on Perera Road. Police arrested five accused last month after allegedly catching them while they were negotiating the demand, according to the Times of India report.
Police officials said the investigation found that Rajwinder Singh, proprietor of Rajlakhsmi companies, and Remi Fernandes were habitual offenders and allegedly linked to the Chhota Rajan gang. Both have been shown as absconding accused in the case. The Crime Branch said it was examining the legal requirements for applying MCOCA after reviewing the accused persons’ criminal records and alleged associations.
“During the course of investigation we learnt there are offences registered against all the accused particularly six offences against Rajwinder Singh and Remi Fernandes and are habitual offender linked to Chhota Rajan and hence in bid to teach them proper lesson we are legally examining to invoke the stringent act of MCOCA,” an official told the Times of India.
The case was initiated after Gagan Sharma, head of business development at Diljay Property Developers Pvt Ltd, filed a complaint. Sharma alleged that the company had acquired the church property on Perera Road through an auction and had obtained a no-objection certificate from the Charity Commissioner. A civil dispute over the property is pending in court.
According to the complaint, Daniel, Ethel and their cousin Tony initially approached Sharma and allegedly demanded money to permit redevelopment activity. The Stevens claimed rights over the property and had approached the court, the report said. Later, Nilesh, Abdullah, Nazir and Remy allegedly contacted Sharma through an intermediary and claimed that Daniel, Ethel and Tony were prepared to give up their claim for ₹22 crore.
The alleged demand was subsequently reduced to ₹11 crore during negotiations. Police then arrested the accused in connection with the alleged extortion attempt. The prosecution also told the Sessions Court that Singh had provided ₹10 lakh and subsequently sent armed men to the site to threaten the developer. The court rejected Singh’s anticipatory bail application last week.
The addition of Section 111 brings the alleged conduct within the BNS provision dealing with organised crime. Any MCOCA action will depend on the Crime Branch’s legal examination and the material collected during the investigation. The civil litigation over rights to the Bandra property remains separate from the criminal proceedings.
