India, June 26 -- A special MCOCA court in Mumbai has acquitted Aakash Bhaskar Shetty and William Albert Rodriques, alleged aides of fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari, in a 2018 extortion case involving threats to a city-based real estate developer and his relatives.

The duo had been accused of helping Pujari by supplying personal and contact details of the complainant, who received multiple extortion calls in November and December 2018 demanding Rs.2 crore. In one instance, the gangster's men allegedly fired shots to intimidate the complainant, leaving a note with Pujari's number and death threats if the demand was not met.

The Mumbai Crime Branch had booked the two under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), claiming the...