Maharashtra: One more held for death threats to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, his MLA brother; 5th arrest so far

Sanjay Raut. File Pic

The Mumbai police have arrested one more person in connection with the death threat calls to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and his MLA brother Sunil Raut, an official told news agency PTI on Thursday.

With this, the number people arrested in the case has risen to five, he said.

The latest arrest was made after the police found the accused person's involvement, the official told PTI.

"The accused is also a political activist and has a close association with local leaders from the eastern suburbs of the city. His social media profile also shows his pictures and videos with MLA Sunil Raut," he told PTI.

He has been remanded in police custody till June 19.

The first information report (FIR) in this connection was registered at the Kanjurmarg police station last week. The police had initially arrested two persons, who during their interrogation revealed the names of a few others, the police official said.

The reason behind the threat calls is being probed, he said.

Earlier, two men were arrested from a suburb in Mumbai on June 10, a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed he and his MLA brother Sunil Raut had received death threat calls and asked the Maharashtra government to take them seriously.

The accused duo- one of them an autorickshaw driver and another an interior designing worker-were detained on Friday itself from the eastern suburb of Govandi but the police awaited an official complaint in the case before arresting them, an official told PTI.

Preliminary information suggests that they made the threat calls to the Raut brothers under the influence of alcohol, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.

They were tracked based on the location of their mobile phones and call recordings provided by the Raut brothers, the official said.

Earlier, Sunil Raut had received a call in which the person on the other side threatened to shoot him as well as his brother Sanjay Raut, police said on Friday.

"The government should take it (threat to him and his brother) seriously and not me. The government wants such threats. The matter is with the police and they will have to look into it," Sanjay Raut had told reporters.

Sunil Raut received a threat. I didn't lodge any complaint. We are not worried about it, claimed Raut, who has received threats in the past as well.

(With inputs from PTI)