In a new twist to an extortion case, property dealer Gurjeet Singh Oberoi denied having employed Vinod Kumar who was arrested on the charges of making extortion calls to him to recover old dues.
Oberoi's claims are in contrast to what Kumar and his cousin Rahul, both residents of Tarn Taran and arrested on charges of making extortion calls to Oberoi demanding Rs. 1 crore in the name of terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), had told the police during interrogation.

Sources in the police said Oberoi had denied having engaged Kumar or Rahul, adding that Oberoi had said he had an employee with whom he had once or twice seen the suspects, but none of them were ever employed. Oberoi also denied the claims of the suspects that he had to pay them any dues.

The police claimed that they were tracking the employee named by Oberoi who was sacked last year and would soon be questioning him.

Meanwhile, Kumar, who allegedly planned and executed the plot of calling up Oberoi, was produced in the court and was sent to judicial custody on Saturday.

Kumar had claimed that Oberoi employed him around 18 months ago and Oberoi had failed to pay him his dues after which he had planned to threaten Oberoi, forcing him to pay the money.

Pistol recovered

Police have recovered a country-made pistol from Vinod Kumar's house in Tarn Taran. Kumar, 28, is the prime suspect in the case and had allegedly made ransom calls and shot at Gurjeet Singh Oberoi's car to make him believe that the calls he made were from Babbar Khalsa International. He had procured the pistol allegedly for the purpose.