A police informer and a dismissed police constable are facing charges of conspiring to extort Rs 22 lakh from a businessman under the pretense of helping secure his brother’s exoneration in a narcotics case, according to a recently filed 300-page chargesheet by the city crime branch.
The accused, identified as police informer Mohammed Naved Salim Pau and dismissed police constable Chandrakant Gaware, allegedly collaborated in this extortion scheme.
The incident dates back to March of this year when businessman Hussain Batatewala, based in South Mumbai, approached the Dongri police with a complaint. He claimed that Naved, who goes by the alias “Pav” and purports to be a police informer, approached him. Naved informed Hussain that his elder brother, Asif Rajkotwala, was a suspect in a drug case registered by the Anti Narcotic Cell Bandra.
Naved assured Hussain that he had connections with an officer named Chandrakant Gaware, who could help remove his brother’s name from the case.
In the course of the alleged conspiracy, Naved and Hussain met Gaware at a hotel, where Gaware briefly displayed his identity card before departing. During this meeting, Naved informed Hussain that he would need to pay approximately Rs 35 lakh and provide two mobile phones to Gaware. When Hussain expressed his inability to afford such a substantial sum, Naved lowered the extortion amount to Rs 22 lakh. Naved also instilled fear in Hussain by suggesting that his brother could face a minimum of 10 years in prison under the NDPS Act.