E-Paper
After extortion call, firing outside NRI family’s house in Jalandhar
Wanted Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti claims responsibility by sharing video on social media.
Unidentified miscreants opened indiscriminate fire at the house of an NRI family at Aman Nagar in Jalandhar town minutes after an extortion call on Monday night.
Jalandhar commissioner of police Dhanpreet Kaur Randhawa said no one was injured in the attack. Police have initiated an investigation and are scanning CCTV footage to zero in on the attackers.
Wanted Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti claimed responsibility for the incident by sharing a video on social media. Bhatti is an operative of Pakistan’s ISI. He was accused of hurling a hand-grenade at the house of Jalandhar-based YouTuber Rozer Sandhu in March and later at the house of senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in April.
“Four sons of the elderly couple staying in the house have settled down in Portugal. The couple told us that the sons had been receiving extortion calls from Bhatti and members of his gang over the past few days. The callers were trying to extort money by threatening them with dire consequences,” Randhawa said.
She said it appeared the firing in Jalandhar was the fallout of a dispute in Portugal as the family in India had nothing to do with Bhatti.
The parents of the Portugal residents told the police that they received a phone call around 11pm on Monday in which the caller introduced himself as Shahzad Bhatti and threatened them if they did not pay up. Five minutes after the call, they heard gunshots and informed the police. Bullet marks were found on the gate and walls of the house.
A case was registered under various sections, including attempt to murder and extortion.
