According to the complaint, Dhode first received a call on October 27 asking him to cough up Rs 10 lakh ``if he wished to survive.'' When the caller refused to identify himself, Dhode hung up. But many other similar calls followed, which Dhode decided to ignore.

On November one, two unidentified persons accosted him near his home and, pointing a gun, warned: ``Don't think we're joking. If you don't pay up, the gun will do the talking.''

A frightened Dhode then moved out of his home with his family for a couple of days. When he returned, the calls resumed. It was then that he approached the police. Navi Mumbai police commissioner Sudhakar Ambedkar said Dhode should have contacted the police immediately instead of ``taking flight.''

However, Dhode said he was forced to do so because he was concerned about his family's safety. Ambedkar added all the necessarymeasures had been taken by the police.

Meanwhile, the threat has created a scare among officials in the neighbouring civic bodies too.