Rawal named ten people in his complaint to the Athwalines police, in which he claimed that he was kidnapped by the accused after they failed in their efforts to grab his land. He was forced to pay Rs 86 lakhs between November 1996 and now as protection money to ensure that no harm came to him or his family members, he said.

A police team led by ACP I C Raj has arrested three of the ten Rawal named as accused. Those arrested have been identified as Dilip Dalpat Supariwala from Bhagwat Park, Adajan Road, Naribal, alias Narayan Vishandas Savlani of Ghod Dod Road, and Kishore alias Kishu Raja Thakore Patel, a resident of Denis Park, Timaliyawaad.

Among the other accused are Ashok Waghani, Dharmendra Punjabi, Ashok Taklo, Atul Patel and one Raju, besides Maratha and Singh. Maratha was arrested by the city police on Wednesday night.

All the accused reportedly have close connections with the Mumbai underworld. Cases against them have been registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

Providing details, the special branch said on Monday evening that Rawal bought a 9,637 sq mt land owned by Spun Pipe and Co. Ltd. in November 1996 and secured all ownership papers of the land. When he began construction on the land, he was approached by Supariwala and Savlani, who claimed that they owned the land. This led to a dispute.

Rawal further told the police that in 1997, the ten accused forcibly took him to Hotel Central Excellency and after beating him up, offered to pay him Rs 1 crore, asking him to hand over ownership of the land. He added that since then, they had been repeatedly demanding money for not eliminating him and his family, and had taken Rs 86 lakhs from him on different occasions. He said he approached the police after reading that Maratha had been arrested while the others had been named in different land-grabbing cases.