India, Sept. 4 -- The MIDC police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999 against alleged members of a gang who claimed they were part of a Mathadi workers union and forced companies operating out of Andheri East to pay hefty sums as protection money.

According to Datta Nalawade, deputy commissioner of police (zone 10), the gang comprises seven men arrested for allegedly assaulting a businessman who owns an establishment within the MIDC premises on August 17, alongside four absconding accused. The absconding accused include Kannan Chinnadurai Vanniyar alias Bada Kanna, the leader of the gang. All 11 alleged members of the gang had been booked earlier for serious offences such as attempted murder, extorti...