Bhai Shankar Rawal, a well-known builder, had been receiving extortion threats from one Raju for the past several months. He had earlier lodged a complaint with the then joint commissioner of police (crime), R S Sharma, and had been provided protection for over two months.

After the security cover was withdrawn, the threats began anew. Rawal then approached the deputy commissioner of police, zone-VII, K L Prasad. It was then decided to lay a trap for the extortionists at the builder's office.

When Raju again called up Rawal and demanded Rs 5 lakh, Rawal said he had a financial problem and could pay up only Rs 3 lakh. Raju agreed and said he would send someone to collect the money.

On Tuesday afternoon, when Rawal was in his office, a woman came up to him and said she had come to collect Raju's money. Rawal handed over Rs 3 lakh to her. When the woman leftthe office, sub-inspector Daya Nayak, who had been sitting in the builder's office, followed her. She walked nearly 50 metres and handed over the money to two men seated in a rickshaw.

Other members of the police squad, including assistant police inspector Pradeep Sharma, S I Bhandari and S I Nayak, who were waiting outside the builder's office, then swooped down on the extortionists and nabbed them. The three were identified as Kamla Rajput, a so-called social worker affiliated to a political party, Raju Nadar and Murugan Kondar. Both the men have been involved in a murder case at Bhandup and in several robbery cases.