PUNE: Wakad police on Thursday arrested two including labour union leader in connection with the suicide of the Marathi film art director Rajesh Sapte (51), who was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his flat on July 3.
The labour union leader Rakesh Maurya (47) of Mumbai was taken into custody from Pimpri, when he had come to seek anticipatory bail from the court. Another suspect Deepak Kharat (37) was taken into custody from Goregaon. Kharat is junior artists coordinator. Wakad police team led by senior inspector Vivek Mugalikar has made the arrests.
Sapte had shot a video before ending his life claiming harassment by the labour union leader. Sapte also stated that the labour union leader and three others had threatened to kill him and had demanded Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 lakh for his every project. They also had threatened him that they would not allow the workers to come at his project. Sapte had also mentioned that they had forced him to pay Rs 2.5 lakh to them," Lohar said.
The police also found a suicide note written by Sapte in which the latter had mentioned the names of four others including his business partner Chandan Thakare (36) of Kandivli, Mumbai. The Wakad police have already arrested Thakare.
Sapte had mentioned in the suicide note that the suspects were harassing him for the past three years. His business partner had duped him over Rs 1 crore. He had taken money from him for the payment of GST and did not pay it.
The police have registered a case under sections 384, 385, 386, 387 (extortion), 306 (abetment of suicide), 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Sapte's wife Sonali has filed an FIR against the suspects.
