MUMBAI: A 27-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly threatening to kill former deputy chief minister of Jharkhand over phone in a bid to extort Rs 15 lakh from him nearly five months ago, a police official said on Wednesday.
The accused, Nilesh Kamlesh Pande, who hails from Pratapgad in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Tuesday from Bainganwadi area in Mumbai's Shivaji Nagar, the official said.
"Pande had called former deputy CM of Jharkhand Sudesh Kumar Mahto on August 14 last year and demanded Rs 15 lakh from him. The accused had also threatened to shoot Mahto by entering his house if the money was not paid to him," the official said.
Mahto, who represents Silli Assembly constituency in Jharkhand, had approached the police.
His personal assistant Mahendra Kumar Sharma had filed a complaint against the unidentified caller on his behalf, he said.
An offence under IPC sections 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 387 (putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) was registered at Gonda Police Station in Ranchi in connection with the case and a probe was launched, he said.
"During the investigation, it came to light that the suspect stays in Mumbai's Shivajinagar area, an eastern suburb," he said.
A photo of the suspect and a mobile number was passed on to the Mumbai Police from their Ranchi counterparts, the official added.
"Accordingly, the Unit-6 of the Mumbai crime branch laid a trap in the area for two days and finally apprehended Pande on Tuesday," he said.
After the arrest, he was produced before a local court, which sent him to transit remand till January 11, he said.
According to the official, Pande has been handed over to a team of Jharkhand Police, which came to Mumbai to take him into custody.