34-year-old tea seller arrested for giving extortion threat to Mahesh Manjrekar

A 34-year-old tea seller was arrested on Thursday for threatening film director Mahesh Manjrekar and demanding extortion amount of Rs 35 crore from him, the police said.

Milind Tulasankar, the accused, was arrested from Khed in Maharashtra''s Ratnagiri district by officials of the Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of Mumbai Crime Branch.

Manjrekar had filed a complaint at Dadar police station two days ago stating that an unidentified person, claiming to be a member of the Abu Salem gang, had sent him messages on mobile phone, demanding Rs 35 crore.

Tulasankar, who had a tea stall at Dharavi in Central Mumbai, allegedly told police that he decided to attempt extortion as his stall had closed due to lockdown and he needed money.

He claimed to belong to a gang run by Salem, a gangster and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused who is in jail.

The police registered a case under IPC sections 385 (extortion) on Wednesday.

Tulasankar admitted that he planned the extortion bid after watching Salem''s videos on YouTube, he said.

The accused had returned to his village after he had to shut down his tea stall in Dharavi during lockdown, he told police.

A court in Mumbai has remanded the accused in police custody till September 2.

The director thanked the police on Twitter.

"A Big Thank You to the @CPMumbaiPolice & The Anti- extortion cell for the swift action in getting the culprit in custody. Bravo @MumbaiPolice," he said.