Pune: In a case involving fraudulent transactions worth ₹1.32 crore and issuing death threats in the name of Mumbai gangster Chhota Rajan, construction businessman Vishal Agarwal has been remanded to police custody.
Initially, the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Court had ordered judicial custody, but Additional Sessions Judge S.R. Narawade overturned this decision, granting police custody for two days.
The case involves accusations against construction businessman Surendra Brahmadutt Agarwal (77), his son Vishal Agarwal (50), and Jaspreet Singh Rajpal.
The complaint was filed by Mushtaq Shabbir Momin (45), a resident of Kausar Bagh, Kondhwa. While Surendra Agarwal and Jaspreet Singh Rajpal were granted bail, Vishal Agarwal was initially sent to Yerawada Jail under judicial custody by the Magistrate's Court. However, investigators sought police custody for further interrogation, leading to the revised court order.
Public Prosecutor Premkumar Agarwal argued that Vishal Agarwal's police custody was necessary to investigate documents, telephone conversations, and social media messages related to the crime. The court accepted these arguments and ordered a two-day police custody for Vishal Agarwal.
Mushtaq Momin owns M.M. Associates and Vastu Properties Agency, which deals with obtaining construction permits and land transactions. A dispute had arisen between the accused, Agarwal and Jaspreet Singh Rajpal, and Nivrutti Kopre over a plot in Brahma County Society, Kondhwa.
In July 2019, Agarwal approached Momin, seeking mediation in the land dispute. Momin agreed to help resolve the issue in exchange for ₹1.5 crore. Agarwal and Rajpal initially paid Momin ₹18 lakh, promising the remaining ₹1.32 crore upon completion of the land-related tasks.
When Momin inquired about the remaining payment, Agarwal allegedly threatened him in the name of Chhota Rajan, warning that Rajan’s gang would kill Momin and his family.
