Finally! Man who extorted Salman Khan's lawyer surrenders

The Mumbai police failed to get their hands on Ramchandra Chatri, who had allegedly been threatening Salman Khan's lawyer Dipesh Mehta for the past three months. Instead, Chatri himself surrendered to the Bandra police yesterday.

Ramchandra Chatri, had been an informant for 15 years

mid-day had carried a front page report on how Chatri, a former police informant of 15 years, had been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the cops (‘Police set 4 traps, but can't nab their own informant', January 17).

mid-day's report on the case on January 17

He had openly challenged the cops to come get him. However, the police had missed him every single time. He had been issuing death threats to Mehta, asking him to pay up, saying that if he didn't, one Azad gang would kill him.

This paper has reported on his threats regularly. Police sources said that for the last two days, Chatri was calling Mehta several times and promised to surrender after Mehta paid for his father's cancer treatment.

'Almost a family member'
Both Chatri's parents were employed by Mehta; his mother is still the house help and the lawyer has seen Chatri grow up in front of him. Mehta has been regularly paying his father's medical bills.

Speaking to this reporter on the phone, Chatri said, "I am innocent and have been made a scapegoat in this case. I'm surrendering so that the truth comes out."

Advocate Mehta told this paper, "I've been living under extreme pressure. He sent me serious threats; it was really shocking as he was like a family member. I underwent mental trauma. However, I will still help his parents.

I believed in myself even when the police failed and he has now surrendered. I thank mid-day for their coverage that put pressure as well." An official from the Bandra police station confirmed that Chhatri had surrendered to the police.