Arijit Singh gets a call from don Ravi Pujari

Mumbai: Arijit Singh, a young popular singer from the Hindi film industry, has allegedly received a phone call from gangster Ravi Pujari who complimented him for his voice and asked him to do business with him.

The singer told the Oshiwara police that he would lodge a complaint if the gangster harasses him again but as a precautionary measure the police has given him some security and launched investigations into the complaint.

The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai crime branch is also running a parallel probe as it involves Pujari, a dreaded gangster who has been in the news for making extortion demands.

According to the Oshiwara police, the singer recently received a phone call where the caller said he was Ravi Pujari and said he had a good voice and if he was interested in doing business with him. The gangster was rooting for an organiser who wanted Mr Singh to do shows at a lower rate, the police said.

Mr Singh, who shot to fame with the popular song Tum Hi Ho, informed the Oshiwara police station about the call. Senior officials said Mr Singh has however refused to file an official complaint. Officials said that Pujari did not threaten him but nevertheless Mr Singh informed the policemen about the call.

A security cover has been given to the singer at his residence, which is in the jurisdiction of Oshiwara police in Jogeshwari (west). Senior police inspector Subhash Khanvilkar of Oshiwara police station said, “We are taking precautionary measures on our side. We have started investigating the case. As of now, we have made a station diary entry. We have recorded the singer’s statements in detail. We asked him to come again and register an FIR, but he has told us that he will do it if the gangster called him again.”

This correspondent tried contacting the singer but he did not respond to the phone calls. Mr Singh tweeted, “It’s a humble request to media to stop bothering me about news. There are other important things happening in India.”