Police say Kannan Chinnadurai Vanniyar (in picture), alias Bada Kanna, and his brother Chota Kanna control the extortion network.
The arrests followed an August 16 attack on registered Mathadi worker Nadeem Shaikh, 27, near Tradestar Building on Kondivita Road in Andheri East. Police said the accused demanded Rs 20,000 a month from Shaikh to allow him to work at the site. The arrested men have been identified as Puran Singh alias Chadda, 39, Rohit Salunkhe, 27, Imran Havaldar, 27, Suresh Gaud alias Kisan, 30, Akash Singh alias Nepalese, 30, Rajkumar Munuswamy alias Lala and Arjun Mullu alias Daku, 37. DCP (West Zone-3) Datta Nalawade said the accused were not members of any registered union but had allegedly formed an organised gang to establish dominance under the guise of a Mathadi workers’ union. Police said the accused face more than 24 cases involving attempted murder, extortion and causing grievous hurt.
Police said no company or developer had filed a complaint despite the alleged intimidation, with victims reluctant to approach police for fear of reprisals. Police said the seven allegedly formed the gang’s third layer and carried out attacks, while brothers Kannan Chinnadurai Vanniyar, alias Bada Kanna, and Chota Kanna allegedly controlled the extortion network. The brothers, who police said had been running the gang for about a decade, are absconding. Those who refused to pay were allegedly prevented from bringing labourers into construction sites, while workers and employees were assaulted, police said.
MUMBAI: Political pressure mounted after the MIDC police arrested seven alleged members of the Kanna gang and invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against them for allegedly terrorising companies, developers and construction workers in Andheri and other Mumbai suburbs. The gang allegedly posed as a Mathadi workers’ union and extorted protection money running into several crore every month. After he refused, they allegedly assaulted him with bamboo and wooden sticks, fracturing his left knee and causing kidney damage and a severe head injury. Shaikh was admitted to Cooper Hospital. They also seized a car allegedly purchased with extorted money and claimed the accused possessed large quantities of gold jewellery bought from the proceeds.