Surendra Shetty, father of actress Shilpa Shetty, facing arrest in a case of alleged extortion, is untraceable since Friday, when a court in Surat in Gujarat rejected his bail plea, police said.

Surendra has been charged with hiring a gangster to recover Rs 80 lakh payable to his daughter by the owners of Praful Sarees for modelling in an ad film.

A team of Surat police arrived in Mumbai on Saturday morning to arrest Surendra. They went to his residence in suburban Versova and also visited his factory, but he was not traceable.

Shilpa is away in Bangalore for a film shoot, Senior Inspector of Surat Police B V Ramani told PTI on phone.

A Surat court had on Friday turned down Surendra's bail plea saying there was prima facie evidence against him.

Police have taped telephonic conversations between him and Pankaj Agrawal and between Sunanda, Surendra Shetty's wife, and Pankaj Agarwal which allegedly indicates that Agarwal was threatened to pay the dues. 

Sunanda arrived in Mumbai on Friday from Dubai and was arrested at the international airport by the Sahar police. She was released on a bail of Rs 40,000.