Investigating officer Police Sub Inspector N V Raak said Rani Dilip Singh and her accomplice Ranjan Kumar Shambhu Mandal (27) were arrested from a hideout at Khar following a complaint by producer Samrat Bhattacharya. He had put out an advertisement in a newspaper six months ago for recruiting heroes and heroines for a serial of his. Rani was one of the candidates, but was rejected as she failed the screen test.

Rani later approached Bhattacharya and, claiming that she was a stranger to the city, requested him to provide her accommodation. Bhattacharya let her move into his office at Navroze Apartments, Pali Hill. However, society members began to warn Bhattacharya about Rani's character, and he asked her to leave his office. She refused, and in turn demanded Rs 50,000 from him.When Bhattacharya refused to pay up, he was allegedlydragged to Bandstand and beaten up by five of Rani's accomplices on Wednesday. He approached the Khar police on Thursday morning, and a posse was dispatched to nab the culprits, said PSI A Shete. The police recovered a chopper, a knife and two live cartridges from Rani's purse.