Mumbai: A construction company lodged a complaint of extortion against five men from Kandivli East for intimidating them into paying up Rs 22 lakh between 2013 and 2024 and demanding more money if they wanted their project to run smoothly ahead. The FIR lodged by Samta Nagar police states that the accused also created defamatory content against the company’s chairman and displayed it on banners earlier this year, urging local residents not to vote in the Lok Sabha elections. Police are probing the case further.
The construction company took up an SRA project in Kandivali East in 2013. They demolished slums and built an SRA building. This year, they are in the process of giving possession to residents in the SRA project. According to the police complaint lodged by the company’s legal advisor, the accused harassed the management for money in 2013. They threatened construction workers, lodged false complaints, and intimidated the management into paying a hafta of Rs 14.6 lakh.
Earlier this year, when the company’s chairman visited the site, the accused demanded another hafta of Rs 50 lakh, threatening that they would create trouble in the private residential project that the company was embarking on next. Following harassment, the management paid Rs 8 lakh but decided not to pay up any further. The accused then put up defamatory banners, after which the management decided to approach the police.