The realty boom in Calcutta is luring the most dreaded extortionists of the 1990s out of hibernation.

The gangsters have made their presence felt through bombings (near Chetla Lockgate on Sunday night) and murder (of a house-owner in Wellesley Second Lane last week).

On Thursday, 10 criminals with a history of rioting and extortion were arrested in a Free School Street hotel, where they were planning to raid a petrol pump.

For the bombing near a temple at Chetla Lockgate, the police are looking for Gurupada Halder, alias Gurey. Accused of rape and extortion, the criminal from Canning possesses information about ganglords Sreedhar and Dom Prodip, who were active in the Chetla area in the 1990s.

Another criminal, Mohammad Akhtar, allegedly killed his landlord Mohammad Salauddin in Wellesley Second Lane, off Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, in a bid to expand his control in the area.

The police fear a spurt in extortion due to the return of the gangsters. An officer dealing with criminal intelligence explained: “Sridhar’s urgency to capture lost ground is connected with the real estate boom in and around Chetla, New Alipore and Tollygunge.”

If it’s real estate in south Calcutta, it’s retail at New Market and the adjoining areas that is drawing criminals like Akhtar, Mehmood and their brothers.

Akhtar was arrested after the Wellesley Second Lane murder. “He had set up a free school in the area that has become a shelter for his henchmen. The gang used to target not just big shop-owners but also hawkers and roadside vendors. Akhtar would even collect money from rickshaw-pullers and porters,” said Shakeel Rehman, former president of the peace committee in Wellesley Second Lane. The committee was set up to tackle extortionists.

“Now that these dreaded criminals are back, we don’t know what will happen,” added Rehman.

At Chetla, big reality projects are under way on Gobinda Auddy Road, Chetla Road, Peary Mohan Roy Road and Jamiruddin Mistry Lane. These projects, and others in the pipeline, are on the radar of criminals like Sridhar,on the prowl for areas where they can make easy money.

“Before his arrest, Dom Pradip used to rule over the area around Chetla Lockgate, where a railway bridge is coming up. Sridhar wanted to extend his control to the area with the help of his old associates Gurey and Kanaai. But Gurey floated his own criminal gang. He is now absconding,” said a senior officer of Chetla police station.

“After Dom Pradip was released from jail, Sridhar wants to capture the area. He is desperate because several gangs are eyeing the upcoming real estate projects,” he added.

Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (south), said: “We have received information about gangs making a comeback in Chetla and Tollygunge. The two men arrested on Sunday in connection with the Chetla bombings revealed information about gang rivalries and extortion rackets.”