Udupi: Following the murder of David D’Souza, contractor and former president of the Mudarangadi gram panchayat, underworld operative Hemanth Poojary allegedly targeted businessmen operating in Padubidri, Manipal, Kaup and Shirva police station limits in Udupi district.
During the investigation into a case registered at Shirva police station, police arrested Harish Poojary,45, a resident of Santoor village on Monday.
A total of eight cases have been registered at various police stations in connection with the extortion threats, police said. He allegedly called them from international numbers and demanded crores of rupees, threatening to kill them in the same manner as D’Souza, who was murdered in Shirva, if they failed to pay. He allegedly provided Poojary with mobile phone numbers of wealthy individuals, including the complainant in the Shirva case, thereby facilitating the extortion attempts. During interrogation, Harish allegedly confessed to having assisted Hemanth Poojary by providing the complainant’s mobile number. Police seized two mobile phones allegedly used in the commission of the offence.
The accused was subsequently produced before the jurisdictional court.