Gangster D K Rao and six aides arrested in Rs 2.5 crore extortion case

One of the accused leaving the Killa Court on Thursday. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested notorious gangster Ravindra Mallesh Bora, alias D K Rao, 53, along with six accomplices, in a high-profile extortion case involving a 74-year-old Andheri-based hotelier. Rao - a key figure in Mumbai's underworld and a close associate of Chhota Rajan - allegedly threatened the complainant over a property dispute, demanding Rs 2.5 crore in extortion money. The threat, delivered in Hindi, became the focal point of the investigation. According to the Anti-Extortion Cell, Rao warned the complainant: "Hotel Empire ke matter me mai hu. Jaise bolta hu, waise karna padega.

Settlement karo aur mujhe 2.5 crore rupye do, nahi to mai tumhe aur Hotel Vishwakarma ke malik ko jaan se maar dunga. Goli kaha se chalegi, pata bhi nahi chalega!" (I am involved in the Hotel Empire matter and you have to do as I say. Pay me Rs 2.5 crore as a settlement amount or I'll kill you and the owner of Hotel Vishwakarma. You won't even know where the bullet hits you from.) This chilling warning was reportedly issued to the complainant during a meeting at Hotel Sahara Star on September 27, 2024.

Dispute over ‘Hotel Empire'

The case revolves around a hotel property in Andheri East, where the complainant alleged that the accused who made a deal with him had been attempting to usurp the property through intimidation and fraud. The dispute dates back to 2016 when one Abdullah Abu proposed converting the complainant's property into a hotel. By 2019, the construction was complete, and Abdullah, along with his son Abubakar, entered into a leave-and-license agreement with the complainant.

Under the terms of the agreement, Abdullah and Abubakar were to pay a deposit of Rs 50 lakh and a monthly rent of Rs 1 lakh. However, neither payment was made, and the duo began operating the hotel under the name Hotel Empire. The complainant soon realised that Abdullah and his associates were trying to claim ownership of the property. The situation escalated when Abdullah and Abubakar proposed selling the hotel for Rs 10 crore, threatening the complainant that they would take half the proceeds if a buyer was found.

Role of D K Rao

As tensions grew, D K Rao allegedly stepped in to back Abdullah and his associates. The gangster, infamous for his involvement in 41 criminal cases, including extortion, forgery, and murder, reportedly made the complainant an offer he couldn't refuse - pay R2.5 crore or face direconsequences.

Police action

The complainant initially filed a report with the Sahar Airport police station on January 1, but due to the involvement of D K Rao, the case was transferred to the Anti-Extortion Cell. An investigating team comprising Senior Police Inspector Sudhir Jadhav, PI Mangesh Desai, Assistant PI Ramdas Kadam, Assistant PI Jalandhar Lembe, and Maruti Kadam, led by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam with DCP Datta Nalawade monitoring the case, confirmed Rao's involvement based of CCTV footage and technical analysis. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Rao on Wednesday and acting on specific information, the team laid a trap in Bandra. D K Rao was nabbed after a nearly 2-hour-long high-speed car chase on Mumbai roads on Wednesday night.

The operation resulted in the arrest of D K Rao and six of his accomplices - Abubakar Siddiqui, Imran Kalim Shaikh, Riyaz Shaikh, Asif Khan alias Darbar, Javed Khan, and Hanif Naik alias Annubhai. They have been charged under multiple sections related to cheating, forgery, breach of trust, threatening, and extortion. The accused were produced before the 37th Magistrate Court and have been remanded to police custody. The police are carrying out investigations to unravel the full extent of the conspiracy.