Thaindian News

Mumbai, June 20 (IANS) Ending a six-hour drama, police arrested a businessman in north Mumbai Monday after he threatened to kill himself if his woman partner was not brought to book for duping him of lakhs of rupees, an official said.

“Rajendra Kumar shut himself up in his flat at Versova, in suburban Andheri, and demanded that his business partner Anita Dhankar be sent in as he wanted to ask her why she fleeced him of all the money,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Digaonkar told IANS.

The 39-year-old costume designing businessman locked himself up in his 11th floor flat in New Mhada building and called up police around 1 p.m., demanding that police and reporters should come to his flat to hear his complaint.

“He was out of his mind and the situation had to be handled tactfully as he had a pistol with him,” Digaonkar added.

“We have charged him with attempt to commit suicide, voluntarily causing grievous hurt and using words or gestures intended to insult a woman,” Digaonkar said.

Rajendra Kumar is likely to be produced in court Tuesday.

Police initially tried to speak to him and convince him to give up his demand. After more than two hours of efforts by Digaonkar and a team of policemen, Senior Inspector Samad Shaikh from Bandra Police Station was sent to his flat to handle the operation.

Shaikh reached the spot in plain clothes and cajoled the businessman to open the door and hand over the pistol to him.

“But he was a difficult man to handle. It took me a long time to get him to open the door following which he asked me not to come close to him or else he would shoot himself,” Shaikh said.

“I had kept my revolver aside and gone in to talk to him and make him drop his pistol, but he did not give up. After nearly four hours, I jumped on him and pinned him down to the floor, snatching away the pistol from him,” Shaikh added.

Other policemen then helped Shaikh control the businessman, who was alone in the flat.