<img title="Sumit Chakraborthy and his son Akash at their office. Pic/ Sneha Kharabe" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/28Sumit-Chakraborthy-and-so.jpg" alt="Sumit Chakraborthy and his son Akash at their office. Pic/ Sneha Kharabe" /> Sumit Chakraborthy and his son Akash at their office. Pic/ Sneha Kharabe
For Ulhasnagar builder Sumit Chakraborthy, the words &lsquo;two crore or your life!&rsquo; from gangster Suresh Pujari&rsquo;s henchman to his 23-year-old son had him scurrying to the police for protection. Today, he wishes he hadn&rsquo;t.
The police, who are supposed to provide security for free to those with a perceived threat from the underworld, have been slapping Chakraborthy with bills of more than Rs 1 lakh month after month.
Ten months after receiving police security, the henchman, in July this year, shot at the Chakraborthy&rsquo;s office. Chakraborthy&rsquo;s son, Akash, had left the premises a mere five minutes before that.
<img title="The shattered glass of Sumit Chakraborthy&rsquo;s office after Suresh Pujari&rsquo;s met shot at it in July this year" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/28shattered-glass.jpg" alt="The shattered glass of Sumit Chakraborthy&rsquo;s office after Suresh Pujari&rsquo;s met shot at it in July this year" />The shattered glass of Sumit Chakraborthy&rsquo;s office after Suresh Pujari&rsquo;s met shot at it in July this year
&ldquo;If I had paid the gangster, I might at least have had peace of mind. I could have got Pujari&rsquo;s henchman to agree to Rs5-10 lakh. Here, I have to pay the police much more than that and still worry about my son being shot dead by the gangster,&rdquo; Chakraborthy said.
While nobody was injured, Chakraborthy was badly shaken by Pujari&rsquo;s decision to act on his threat. &ldquo;He is a local goonda. There was never any reason for us to take him seriously,&rdquo; Akash said.
Two days after the shooting, Chakraborthy got Akash to register for an arms licence and asked for police security for his office, which he got for barely 12 days. Billed for security Chakraborthy had been receiving threats from the Suresh Pujari gang for years, but had always refused police protection. Last year, the gangster started threatening Akash, which is when Chakraborthy became worried and approached the police. mid-day is in possession of the letter that Akash had written to both the local police and higher authorities of the Thane police on October 1, 2015, asking for police security because of threats from the gangster. On October 2, Akash was provided with an armed police constable for protection. Three months later, in December 2015, the Chakraborthys were surprised to receive the first bill. &ldquo;We got a bill for Rs 3,47,256 for October to December. Shocked, we asked the police why the protection was not free as it was for a threat to life and not just to show off. But, the Thane police rejected our pleas and directed us to pay the amount at the Central police station in Ulhasnagar,&rdquo; Chakraborthy said.
<img title="The bullet hole in one of the tables at Chakraborty&rsquo;s office." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/28bullet.jpg" alt="The bullet hole in one of the tables at Chakraborty&rsquo;s office." />The bullet hole on one of the tables at Chakraborty's office.&nbsp;
The second bill arrived in March this year. &ldquo;The amount was Rs 6.60 lakh. They were billing us at more than Rs 1 lakh per month. After the shooting at our office, we are now waiting for the July to September bill. We have not paid a single rupee yet, but the cops can demand it at anytime. Why should we have to pay?&rdquo; Chakraborthy said.
&ldquo;Is police security provided only to higher authorities and politicians and not for the common man who receives threats to his life?&rdquo; he said. PoliceSpeak Ashitosh Dhumbre, Joint Commissioner of Police, Thane, confirmed that police protection had been provided to Akash Chakraborthy and said, &ldquo;I have to verify the cost details and will look into the matter.&rdquo;
A senior official from Thane police said, &ldquo;We provide police protection to any citizen who applies for it. We do, however, first check background and whether there is need for it. In most cases, people are from well-off backgrounds and, hence, have to pay for the service. In Akash Chakraborthy&rsquo;s case, he is a developer and hence we have billed him for the service. He is paying the government as a government officer has been deployed for hissecurity,&rdquo; the officer said.
The officer said, &ldquo;Before giving protection we clear everything with the person. We also inform him or her about the cost of the service. We have to check what transpired in Chakraborthy&rsquo;s case, but we are sure he was informed. Only government servants like MLAs and MPs are provided protection free of cost,&rdquo; the officer said.

An Ulhasnagar builder is shocked to receive a bill of over a lakh a month from Mumbai police for protection, which is supposed to be for free, after threats from underworld man Suresh Pujari

Builder fumes as Mumbai police hand him Rs 3 lakh 'protection' bill

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Ganeshotsav 2026

Home / Mumbai / Mumbai News / Article / Builder fumes as Mumbai police hand him Rs 3 lakh 'protection' bill

Builder fumes as Mumbai police hand him Rs 3 lakh 'protection' bill

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Ganeshotsav 2026