Chandigarh Police on Saturday announced ₹50,000 reward on Monty Shah, 31, an aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
He was most recently booked on October 12 for trying to kill two men, who are witnesses against Bishnoi in last year’s property dealer Sonu Shah murder case.
“Any person giving information leading to Monty Shah’s arrest will be get ₹50,000 reward in cash,” said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police.
Monty, alias Ozans, who studied till Class 12, has seven cases of attempt to murder, extortion and rioting registered against him in police stations of Sector 26 and 34. He had been convicted and sentenced to three-year jail for shooting at a cop who had gone to arrest him in 2015.
He allegedly runs at extortion racket on behalf of Bishnoi, who is presently lodged in jail. While Bishnoi makes calls to businessman from behind bars, Monty collects money from the targets, said police.
Got bail amid Covid pandemic
Till a few months back, Monty was lodged in Chandigarh Model Jail (Burail jail) after being arrested by the crime branch in December 2019. Police had seized countrymade arms — a.32 pistol and double-barrel gun — besides magazine and live cartridges from him.
Covid-19 pandemic came as a blessing for him, as he was granted bail along with other prisoners in order to decongest jails.
{{/usCountry}}Covid-19 pandemic came as a blessing for him, as he was granted bail along with other prisoners in order to decongest jails.
{{/usCountry}}On the night of October 11, he was caught on camera brandishing two pistols while approaching the office of his cousin Praveen Shah and bouncer Tirath, a former aide, in Burail. The two are witnesses in the Sonu Shah murder case that dates back to September 28, 2019. Praveen is Sonu’s brother. According to the chargesheet, Bishnoi was behind the murder.
Though Praveen and Tirath saved themselves by hiding inside the office, police had registered a case of attempt to murder against Monty.
Earlier on September 30, he was booked for harassing a woman and posting her daughter’s pictures on social media platforms.
Fired at cop in 2015
Monty Shah had shot at and injured inspector Baldev Kumar, who is presently posted as the Sector-34 station house officer, when a police team had gone to arrest him in July 2015. He was arrested after the shootout.
Monty had been booked along with Tirath after allegedly demanding extortion at gunpoint at a hotel in Burail. They had even taken away ₹10,000 and two LCD televisions from the hotel. Police had gone to arrest him in that case.
After Bishnoi issued a threat of bloodshed to avenge his aide Gurlal Brar’s murder outside a mall in Chandigarh last Saturday, police have registered three fresh FIRs against his gang members running extortion racket in the city.
Police have also arrested Bishnoi’s aide Praveen Kumar, alias Bhima, who is a shooter, for extortion and mobilising gang members, besides Raju Basondi and Abhishek in connection with Sonu Shah murder case.