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FEATURE

Private detective held for blackmailing south

Mumbai-based builder: Police

Extract from: Express News Service | Mumbai | Published: August 6, 2018 3:16:33 am
Attorney & CEO at Bearden Investigative Agency, Inc.

“Even as the duo
continued to stay in
touch, the complainant
was contacted in May
by Pothiawala, who
warned him to stay
away from the woman
and threatened to
tell his wife about the
alleged extramarital
relationship,” said a
Crime Branch official.

A private detective and his accomplice were arrested by the When the builder asked for more time to put together the
Mumbai Police Crime Branch for allegedly blackmailing a south money, Pothiawala allegedly called the builder for another
Mumbai-based businessman. The duo had claimed to have meeting. “This time, the accused had brought along a pen drive
obtained Call Detail Records (CDRs) of the businessman and and threatened to send its contents to his wife. The builder
threatened to tell his wife about his alleged extra-marital affair gave in to the threat and paid Pothiawala Rs 10 lakh in July,”
unless he paid them Rs 2.5 crore, said police. added the official.

The detective, Shailesh Manjrekar, was arrested by the Anti- However, Pothiawala allegedly sent the CDR to the builder’s
Extortion Cell of the Crime Branch on Saturday after the wife via WhatsApp. After his wife questioned him about his
businessman registered a complaint with the police. His relationship with the woman, the builder approached the
accomplice, Imtiyaz Pothiawala, alias Mannu (51), a resident police.
of Agripada, was picked up the police on Friday. Manjrekar
was produced in court on Sunday and remanded to police During investigation, the police discovered that Pothiawala had
custody until August 8 while Pothiwala is in police custody until tasked Manjrekar with retrieving the builder’s CDR. Manjrekar
August 7. According to the police, the complainant, is listed as the Managing Director of Goregaon-based Accent
Walkeshwar-based married builder had met a middle-aged Confidential Investigation Pvt Ltd on the agency’s website.
woman living in Lower Parel last year during a trip to Goa and The agency claimed to carry out both personal and corporate
became friends with her. As their friendship developed, the investigations, conduct background verifications for potential
police said the woman confided to the builder in January this spouses and spying on cheating spouses. The website also lists
year that her relationship with her boyfriend was troubled. him as being a ‘detective for family court case’, ‘detective for
teenage monitoring’, ‘missing person finder’ and ‘detective for
“Even as the duo continued to stay in touch, the complainant dating scams’.
was contacted in May by Pothiawala, who warned him to stay
away from the woman and threatened to tell his wife about the Manjrekar was wanted since last year when unit 9 of the Crime
alleged extramarital relationship,” said a Crime Branch official. Branch had arrested other private detectives for purchasing
The official added that the businessman met Pothiawala at a CDRs and conducting investigations with their aid. Pothiawala
hotel in south Mumbai, where he was shown his Call Detail had been arrested by the Customs Department in 2000 in
Records. “The accused had threatened to send the CDR to the connection with the seizure of 575 gold bars, valued at Rs 3.09
builder’s wife and his family members unless he paid him Rs 2.5 crore for which he did not have any bill of purchase or import
crore within three days,” said a Crime Branch official. certificate, and Rs 21 lakh in currency notes.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/private-detective-held-for-blackmailing-south-mumbai-based-builder-police-5293045/
www.wad.net | August 2018 19