Bhandup Police Book Moneylender and Agents for Abducting Mulund Broker
Bhandup police have registered a case against a private moneylender, his associate, and two unidentified persons for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting, and threatening a 54-year-old property broker at gunpoint over loan recovery. The complainant, Haresh Badra, a resident of LBS Road in Mulund West who was also abducted from Marol in Andheri during the ordeal, had reportedly paid back Rs 18.80 lakh against a loan of Rs 14 lakh.
According to the police, Badra borrowed Rs 14 lakh from moneylender Adil Pawaskar in May 2026 under an agreement to repay Rs 16 lakh within a month. Badra had invested the borrowed sum through a friend, Manish Loke of Ghansoli, who had promised a return of Rs 4 lakh on the investment over a one-month period.
Loke, who claimed to be involved in a banking venture, returned only Rs 5 lakh before avoiding Badra. Badra then paid Rs 2.3 lakh to Pawaskar and explained that Loke had defaulted on the investment. In the second week of June, when Badra went to Loke's residence in Ghansoli to recover the funds, an associate named Sonu alias Sandy arrived with two men and threatened him, demanding direct payment to Pawaskar.
The intimidation escalated on June 25, when Sonu confronted Badra at a relative's house, picked him up from his office, and forced him into a car where Loke was already seated. The accused assaulted both men and demanded money from Badra's wife, who arranged and paid Rs 10 lakh to secure his release. The assailants also recorded a video of Badra before letting him go.
Badra was abducted again on August 11 from Marol in Andheri and assaulted by the accused, who demanded Rs 3.5 lakh claiming Sonu had helped recover funds from Loke. Badra's wife borrowed money from a friend and handed the cash to Sonu at the Chheda Nagar signal in Ghatkopar to free her husband. Badra stated he refrained from reporting the earlier incidents due to ongoing pressure from the lenders.
On October 30, Sonu intercepted Badra near the Sonapur signal in Bhandup while he was riding a scooter and forced him into a vehicle. Badra was punched, assaulted, and threatened with a pistol as the abductors demanded another Rs 10 lakh. After hours in captivity, Badra escaped near the Bal Rajeshwari Temple close to an HP petrol pump in Mulund after asking to relieve himself, evading his pursuers to reach home and report the crime.
The Bhandup police subsequently registered a first information report against Pawaskar, Sonu, and two unidentified associates on charges of kidnapping, voluntarily causing hurt, extortion, criminal intimidation, and common intention.
