Thursday, December 15 2005 18:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: In a sequel to yesterday's (Dec 14, 2005) arrest of fugitive underworld don Chota Rajan's wife Sujata under MCOCA for alleged extortion from a city builder, police today booked Rajan's trusted lieutenant and jailed undertrial Akash Mallesh Vora alias D K Rao, in the same case.

He has been charged along with Sujata Nikalje, Suresh Shinde, Rakesh Surve and Harwindersingh Bedi (all arrested yesterday) of extorting Rs 10 lakh from a builder from east Mumbai and subsequently threatening him to shell out more money, police said.

D K Rao is likely to be produced in MCOCA court later in the day, where the Mumbai crime branch will seek his custody for further investigation in the case, police added.

Mumbai crime branch sources, said that D K Rao's activities in the jail have been under surveillance for the past many days, and it was found that he was in touch with don Chota Rajan and other members of the gang through cell phone.

"Even while in jail, Rao had also threatened builders and asked them to shell out money," a crime branch source said, adding that his activities from the jail included ensuring that the extortion money was collected, part of it distributed to the gang members, and remaining remitted to the gang leader.

The crime branch source said that yesterday's arrest of Chota Rajan's wife Sujata was a result of surveillance mounted for months together on several members of Chota Rajan gang, inside and outside the jail.

"We have names of several builders, who have either paid extortion money or have been threatened, but none has lodged complaint in this regard", the source added.