Is the Mumbai underworld back to its merry-old ways, threatening and extorting money from businessmen? If this story is to be believed, it is!

A 46-year-old businessman from Nerul claims he had been threatened by two different underworld gangs in the last three months in connection with a case. He received extortion calls from one of the two known gangs in the city, asking him to pay Rs 2 crore, a senior police official said.

The complainant, Firoj Talukdar, a Nerul sector 23 resident, is in scrap business and also owns a hotel in Navi Mumbai. He owns a plot in Govandi, which is currently occupied by local traders. The matter has been under litigation for long and the verdict is likely soon.

"The plot houses more than 100 shops. Talukdar claims he's the owner of the land, and court is also likely to rule in his favour," said a police officer in Nerul station.

"In February second week, one Bapu approached him introducing himself as a member of the Chota Rajan gang. Raju asked Talukdar to withdraw the case or else... "Tum mujhe jante nehi ho kya? Murli Raman aur tumhare jo case court mei chal raha hei, wo case tum wapas le lo. Varna iska natija accha nehi hoga,'" the police said.

Talukdar did not take it seriously and did not inform anyone.

"In April first week, he received a call from an unidentified number, which he claimed was from Dubai. The caller introduced himself as a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, and informed Talukdar that he knew everything about his business and family. He then asked Talukdar to withdraw the case," police said.

After five days, he received another call from the same number asking for a ransom of Rs 2 crore. "Hum jo bolta hei, wohi kar do. Ab apko do khoka dena padega," the man said.

Talukdar finally approached the police on Friday and registered an FIR. A case has been registered under IPC sections 385, 509, 506 (2) and 34.

Suresh Mendage, deputy commissioner of police (zone I) said: "We are trying to find out if the caller was really from Dubai, or somewhere else. We have forwarded the case to the crime branch and investigations are in the initial stage."