Mumbai crime: 3 held for extorting Rs 2 crore from Juhu couple

After living in fear for two years, a Juhu-based couple heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when Juhu police arrested three men on harassment and extortion charges. Police sources said, the duo was being threatened to withdraw a case against their contractor Raghuveer Singh and pay Rs 2 crore to the goons.

Rohit and Rita Chugani

Court case
In 2012, Rohit (38) and Rita Chugani (35) paid R50 lakh to Singh to start construction on a plot in Kalyan. While Singh began construction, he refused to complete the work in 2014 and also declined to return the amount paid to him. Consequently, the Chuganis filed a case of cheating against Singh to recover R50 lakh. But soon after the case started, the couple started receiving calls from unknown numbers demanding they withdraw the case or face dire consequences. Rita said, "We went to Juhu police station but no action was taken. The calls kept coming. While they were demanding R3 crore initially, later it came down to Rs 2 crore."

The threat
The couple said, earlier this week, the goons paid a visit to their home. "They came twice. On the first day, they arrived at 8 am and banged our doors until we opened. There were a handful of goons and they threatened to kill us if we didn't retract the case against Singh. We called the cops, but the thugs went away by the time police arrived. The next day, they returned and threatened us with dire consequences. But the cops came on time and nabbed three of the goons."

Police says
Police sources said, two men and four women accompanied Singh to their house. "We arrested Singh and two men. Hunt is on for the four women in that group. They have been booked under Sections 143, 452, 511, 509, 504 and 506 of the IPC, for trespassing, sexual harassment, insult and criminal intimidation," said Sunil Ghosalkar, senior police inspector at Juhu police station.