Once a crorepati, Ranjit Batla, arrested under NDPS, can't pay Rs 6,000 electricity bill
Once a crorepati, Ranjit Batla, arrested under NDPS, can't pay Rs 6,000 electricity bill
The picture of wealth and prosperity painted in the media about arrested bookie and alleged pimp, Ranjit Batla (59), is a canvas that's crumbling with poverty.
Except for a jockey cap, a relic of an era where he'd been gambling, pimping and dining to glory, Batla does not even have Rs 6,000 to pay his electricity bills. Cops who raided his apartment at Naju Mansion in Cuffe Parade said they are due for two months.
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Crime Scene: The ANC arrested 11 people at the Naju Mansion on Saturday. Ranjit Batla, one of the arrested, is an alleged bookie |
Batla was always known to wear designer outfits, expensive watches and had a lavish lifestyle. A gambler, Batla had lost much of his money in gambling and horse racing.u00a0
Yet, people close to him still maintain Batla is not the pauper he claims to be before investigating officers. He has property in Bandra (W), where his divorced wife and child live.
According to the police, Batla got entangled in the drug raid in the early hours of Sunday simply because he had hosted the 11 men including four women, on whom 2 gm of cocaine and 5 gm of charas were found.
Cops said the group was partying at Poison on Saturday evening and then moved to China House and Rock Bottom in Juhu.
It was only when the places had shut at 1.30 am, that they called Batla and requested they be allowed to party on at his place.
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According to the interrogators, the group then headed to Batla's 1,500 sq ft house two-bed room apartment. He has been staying there for over 20 years and is known as a troublemaker.
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Investigating police officer Inspector Bhanudas Jadhav said, "We could hardly interrogate Batla, as we got his custody for just a two hours. He got bail in the afternoon."
Batla's lawyer Ayaz Khan said, "I do not know him personally. The case was referred to me and I was paid my professional fees for appearing in court and getting him out on bail."
The court has directed Batla and the others to attend ANC office daily for one hour. He and the others have been booked for consumption of drugs under the NDPS Act.
