Laxminarayan Shetty — Laxminarayan Shetty of Mulund West A budding extortion entrepreneur

When entrepreneurs became extortionists: How Mumbai’s hoteliers who used to receive frightening calls from extortionists have now transformed into extortionists. The case in point is a hotelier, RTI activist and political enthusiast- Laxminarayan Shetty, who hails from Mulund West.

Mulund hotelier Laxminarayan Shetty is not to be missed for his notorious criminal activities. The Mulund hotelier who heads the operation of Café Krishna and Krishna Bhog restaurants in the city has been accused of running an extortion racket targeting builders in the past.

In October 2015, Mulund Police had sought a seven-day remand and booked Laxminarayan Shetty along with two others accused in the case for threatening and extortion. After the court approved the petition to determine if the three accused were part of a wider extortion network, they were booked under IPC sections 384, 385, and 506 at Mulund West Police Station.

Laxminarayan Shetty is also an alleged partner in business with a drug peddler. He is reportedly involved in the drug syndicate business because of his connections in the industry.

While the country is glued to their TV and phone screens with the NCB investigation uncovering the cruise drug bust held in the city. The city’s small-scale peddlers often manage to find a way to get away from the NCB scanner.

Sparring addicts and targeting suppliers has been the target for the NCB officers over the last year as they unearth the various drug syndicates in the country. In order to eliminate the drug menace in the city, it is necessary to tighten noose around drug peddlers. Moreover, they ought to prepare a roadmap to go after the peddlers and disrupt their supply chain.

Frustration among the young generation has risen, resulting in a spike in crime under the influence of drugs. To overcome this, society and political parties need to work together. Political parties should not shelter drug peddlers. Rather, they should rise beyond politics and join hands to awaken the masses.

The government should free its police from political interference and move its focus from the addicts towards the drug suppliers. There should be no politics on the issue. It does not matter who is in power at the Centre or the state levels. The state must close its loopholes, while the Centre needs to enact a robust law, possibly through a constitutional amendment, that will deter all states from producing and marketing narcotics.