Actor Vivek gets extortion calls from Ravi Pujari gang member

Mumbai, Sep 22: Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi on Sep 21 complained to city police that he had received extortion calls from a person who demanded Rs five crore claiming he was a member of Ravi Pujari gang.

The actor submitted in writing about threats from a member of Ravi Pujari gang to the Police Commissioner's office as well as in Juhu police station, crime branch sources said.

The sources said the caller demanded crores of rupees but did not elaborate on the content of the actor''s application.

Priyatosh Tiwari, the lawyer of the Oberoi family, said the actor had received extortion calls from a person who claimed to be associated with the Pujari gang and demanded Rs five crore from him.

"In the application, Mr Oberoi mentioned that the calls were made at the behest of financier Jawaharlal Agicha," Tiwari said. Agicha is the person who has filed a cheque bouncing case against the actor and his father, he said.

"This is pressure tactics to compel us to withdraw the case. Agicha is a law-abiding citizen and not even a single case has been registered against him till now," Agicha's lawyer H H Nagi told PTI.

The actor''s firm, Oberoi Ltd, had borrowed Rs 3.9 crore from the financier for brand promotion abroad. The loan was sought through one of the company directors Anand Oberoi and the amount was paid at the request of the company's Manager Anil Lalwani.

Two cheques were issued by Oberoi family. One of Rs 50,000 was encashed by the complainant in Jan 2010 while the other of Rs three crore bounced in Oct 2010.

Aggrieved, the lender filed a complaint in a magistrate's court which issued non bailable warrants against the actor and his father after they failed to appear.

The Oberoi family moved the Bombay High Court which has stayed the proceedings in the lower court.

PTI