Ludhiana: Man held for setting father-in-law’s car ablaze, extortion bid

Police said that during the investigation, it was revealed that in 2022, the accused Tarun Kumar had eloped with and married the complainant’s daughter; though both were adults and the girl had willingly chosen to stay with Tarun, the complainant had opposed the relationship due to his migrant background and cut off all communication with the couple since then

In a bizarre case of financial desperation, a man allegedly set his father-in-law’s car on fire to extort ₹5 lakh from him, intending to use the money to start his own business. Reportedly, the accused Tarun Kumar hails from a poor migrant background and targeted his affluent in-laws to finance his ambitions.

According to victim Satish Jain, the incident took place during the early hours of June 19 and 20 in Nirankari Mohalla near Oswal mills. (iStock)

According to victim Satish Jain, the incident took place during the early hours of June 19 and 20 in Nirankari Mohalla near Oswal mills. Jain further noted that he had parked his car near a vacant plot close to his residence.

The vehicle suddenly caught fire during the night. Upon checking the CCTV footage the next day, it was found that three masked individuals had deliberately set the vehicle ablaze.

Following this, Jain filed a formal complaint at Division Number 6 police station. However, two days later, the complainant’s son starts receiving threatening WhatsApp calls. The caller identified themselves as a member of the “Pandit Gang” and claimed that they have intentionally set their car on fire. The callers further demanded ₹5 lakh from them or threatened to harm them further.

Following these incidents, Satish Jain registered a case under Section 308(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Division Number 6 police station.

Police said that during the investigation, it was revealed that in 2022, the accused Tarun Kumar had eloped with and married the complainant’s daughter. Though both were adults and the girl had willingly chosen to stay with Tarun, the complainant had opposed the relationship due to his migrant background and cut off all communication with the couple since then.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Dharminder Singh from Division No 6 police station said, “We have booked three individuals after reviewing the CCTV footage. With the help of technical surveillance, we traced the threatening call and arrested the accused Tarun Kumar, who has been named in the FIR. He is currently being interrogated, and more revelations related to the crime are expected.”