A special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) convicted gangster Guru Satam’s son and nephew on Wednesday in a 2014 extortion case lodged by a Dadar-based builder.
Satan's son Bhushan and nephew Narhari (Pankaj) were convicted by special judge RR Bhosale for being a part of an organised crime syndicate and hatching a conspiracy to extort money from a builder in 2014. Along with them, the court has also convicted their aide Puranshankar Mishra, for being part of the gang and the conspiracy.
After the trio was found guilty, their advocates argued for a “proposed sentence” and the court will pronounce the sentence on May 31.
Satan's lawyer, Jayesh Vitlani, sought leniency considering he has been in prison since his arrest in 2015. He contended that he has an old mother to look after. He further argued that no weapons were used in the alleged crime, as accused by the prosecution.
The prosecution has claimed that on November 26, 2014, the builder’s employee received a phone call. The caller allegedly introduced himself as an aide of gangster Guru Satam and demanded extortion. The employee, who is the complainant in the case, informed the builder the following day, who then approached the anti-extortion cell (AEC).
The complainant claimed to have received another phone call on December 2, 2014, from Satam who demanded Rs 20 lakh from him.
The AEC, after the calls, registered a case against Satam.
On December 5, three days after Satam’s call, Narhari was arrested by the AEC. Mishra was arrested in January 2015. Bhushan was the last person to be arrested in February 2015.
The prosecution examined 23 witnesses during the trial. Public prosecutor Jai Singh Desai argued that Bhushan was a part of the larger syndicate run by his father and received pecuniary gain through extortion. Further, Besides, Bhushan was receiving extortion money through Mishra, alleged prosecution.
The prosecution has claimed that Narhari had made extortion calls and also that he went to collect the extortion money, which was in the form of dummy notes.
Who was Guru Satam?
One of Mumbai’s biggest extortionists who looted many businessmen is popularly known as Guru Satam. He fled the country in 1995 and has been said to be residing in Asian countries. He has also threatened many Bollywood personalities and expanded his extortion activities in the metro. After his spat with Dawood Ibrahim, Satam joined hands with Chhota Rajan and became a force to reckon with in the underworld. Apparently he deceived Chhota Rajan to Shakeel in 2002 which resulted in Rajan being attacked. He was allegedly responsible for arranging the killing of labour leader Datta Samant in 1997. Gurunath is known for his quick changing temper and organisational skills.
