Gangster-turned-builder Ashwin Naik was on Monday arrested in a death threat case soon after he was sent to judicial custody by a court in an extortion case, police said.
Naik was arrested for threatening a businessman at gunpoint for demanding his share of Rs 16 lakh from his partner, a crime branch officer said.
The gangster was remanded in police custody till July 2 in the case which happens to be the third one registered against him this month. According to police, the complainant had entered into a retail business in 2010 and had a partner. Due to business disputes, the complainant decided to part ways with his partner and demanded his share of Rs 16 lakh.
However, whenever the victim asked for the money, his partner avoided him citing various reasons. On December 24, 2011, the victim was called to a place in central Mumbai by his partner, who later took him to the residence of Naik in the same locality.
Naik's men had threatened the victim at gun-point saying that he should not seek the money from his partner and the victim was made to sign on a related document before the gangster.
However, after reading news about two cases of extortion registered against Naik, the victim gathered courage and complained to police, resulting in Naik's arrest. The complainant's partner and Naik's two associates are wanted in this case.
In the first week of June, police had registered an extortion case against Naik for allegedly assaulting a contractor. But he was granted anticipatory bail by a session court on June 6.
The same day police apprehended him for allegedly extorting about Rs three crore from a builder. In this second case, the cops produced him in the court on Monday as his police custody was over. The court subsequently sent him in judicial custody following which the cops held the gangster in the third case.
The Crime branch said that they had received a few more complaints against Naik and they were going through them.