Hiren Bhagat aka Romi Bhagat, arrested for extorting Rs10 crore at gunpoint from Ajit Peter Kerkar, the father of Ajay Peter Kerkar, who owns tour and travel firm Cox & Kings, by posing as a fake ED officer, has been sent to police custody till February 26.
On Wednesday, the crime branch told the court that initially Bhagat’s driver, who was with him during arrest at the airport, didn’t seem to have any connection with the case. However, CCTV footage from his employer’s residence showed him carrying six trolley bags that were recovered from a slum area.
Accusations against Bhagat
In the court, the crime branch accused Bhagat of committing white collar crimes wherein he obtains documents of malpractices of businessmen and extorts money from them by blackmailing them.
The police told the court that when the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had arrested Ajay Peter Kerkar, Bhagat extorted Rs10 crore from his father by threatening to harm the former in jail.
Crime Branch's searches
During searches, the crime branch recovered cash and gold worth nearly Rs13.6 crore from Bhagat’s house and bank locker. The investigating officer told the court that out of the extorted amount, gold bars worth Rs2.60 crore were purchased, which have been recovered. The police also found the gun with which Bhagat had threatened Kerkar.
A crime branch official said that Bhagat has two licenses to possess weapons on the basis of which he had purchased three weapons. They will soon file an application to cancel both the licenses.
Late last month, one of the city’s leading builders had complained to the police about an extortion demand of Rs164 crore with the threat of action by the Enforcement Directorate. In this case, the crime branch had registered an FIR and arrested five persons. During their interrogation, Bhagat’s name came up and it was found that he too was present in the meeting held to threaten the builder and he had declared himself an ED officer.
