Mumbai 'tantrik' denies threatening actor, says he loved her

Mumbai: The school teacher posing as tantrik, Ajay Pandey, who was produced in Thane court yesterday for threatening Bhojpuri actor Rani Chatterjee, told her that he did not kill her all the while because he was smitten by her.

Chatterjee said Pandey had expressed his affection for her while sending a series of threatening messages to her. "I was shocked when he sent me the message that he liked me. The message said, "Tum mujhe bahut achchi lagti ho, isliye tumhe bataya (about the supari), nahi toh main apne profession mein aisa nahin karta."

Chatterjee had filed a complaint with the Kashimira police on December 12 stating that she received a series of threatening text messages from a tantrik.

The tantrik told her that he had received Rs 15 lakh from an actor in the Bhojpuri film industry to kill her and that he would spare her and kill the actor instead if she paid him more than that.

A police team tracked down the IMEI number to Pandey, a 35-year-old schoolteacher, in Barrackpore, West Bengal, and arrested him on December 17.

Advertisement

Inspector Anand Bhoir of Kashimira police said, "We have seen the message on Pandey's mobile. He told the girl that his affection for her made him confess to her about the supari. We are also trying to trace the other Bhojpuri actors involved in the episode on the basis of the numbers on Pandey's phone."

While Bhoir refused to divulge names, he said, "Another Bhojpuri actress, who has been sending a number of text messages to Pandey, could also be involved."

Advertisement

Pandey has been remanded in police custody till December 30.