Cong man booked for extorting Rs 75 lakh from steel merchant

Kirtikumar Chimanlal Salot of M S Steel had registered the complaint against Shetty.u00a0

"Just like other businessmen, Salot took loans to develop his business. But after the recession, he was unable to pay some of the loans and the banks initiated recovery proceedings against him," said Gopal Pawar, Sub Inspector of Mulund police station.

Earlier this year, Salot's son Pritesh had met Shetty to seek his help, to which Shetty agreed.

In June, Salot claimed he received a call from Ashish Rathod, who introduced himself as Shetty's PA, and demanded Rs 75 lakh from him.

"They claimed that Shetty had meet senior leaders and resolved the matter, for which Salot now has to pay Rs 75 lakh as a settlement fee," said Pawar.

Salot said constant calls from Rathod and Shetty frustrated him and he decided to seek police help.

"We have registered a case of extortion against Shetty and are investigating the matter," said Pawar.

The other side
When contacted, Shetty's PA Ramdas Naik said he was in Delhi. Naik said it was Shetty who wrote letters to the Income Tax and Sales Tax Department, informing them about Salot's involvement in Rs 300 crore scam. He claimed that this angered Salot and he framed Shetty. u00a0