The city police have arrested two alleged associates of the gangster D K Rao in an extortion case.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Parag Manere told reporters this evening that on July 17 this year a builder from Badlapur in the district received a call, allegedly on behalf of Rao, asking for a ransom of Rs 3 crore.
Police started a probe and arrested Vicky Raju alias Vikrant Jadhav (51) at Shirgaon in Badlapur on October 19, and recovered a pistol and two live cartridges from him, the DCP said.
He confessed to have made the extortion call. Based on the information given by him, police arrested Habiba Hussain Khan (51), a resident of Tilak Nagar, Chembur, in Mumbai, Manere said.
Rao, a close aide of fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan, has some 22 cases registered against him in Mumbai region and is presently lodged at Taloja jail in connection with another extortion case, he added.
Both the arrested accused were remanded in police custody by a local magistrate up to October 26. Further probe is on.
