E-Paper
Ludhiana: Man receives ₹1-crore extortion call, probe on
The caller allegedly demanded ₹1 crore and threatened to kill members of the family if the money was not paid
A 43-year-old man from Baba Nand Singh Nagar in Ayali Kalan has approached the Sarabha Nagar police after receiving an extortion call from an unidentified person who claimed his association with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The caller allegedly demanded ₹1 crore and threatened to kill members of the family if the money was not paid.
Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons on the complaint of Gurpreet Singh. According to the complainant, he earlier ran a bottled water plant, which shut down before the Covid-19 pandemic. He is currently unemployed.
Gurpreet Singh stated that on Friday he received a WhatsApp call from an international number, which got disconnected within seconds. Soon after, he began receiving repeated messages demanding ₹1 crore and issuing threats to murder his family. Alarmed by the messages, he immediately informed the police.
Sub-inspector Guljinder Singh, SHO of Sarabha Nagar police station, said a case has been registered under Sections 308(4) (extortion) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He added that the caller spoke in Hindi and claimed affiliation with the Bishnoi gang.
The officer further said that the complainant lives with his wife and parents and has no children. However, the caller also threatened to shoot his “son” if the money was not paid, raising suspicion that the call may have been a random extortion attempt. Police said they are examining the phone numbers and digital trail to identify the accused.
