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Maharashtra resident held for making ransom calls to Punjab ex-CM Channi
Arrested person not the real accused, claims the ex-CM; the police said they had registered a case under sections 387 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code on March 2, after a video of Channi disclosing about the ransom call went viral on social media
The Rupnagar police arrested a Maharashtra resident from Nagpur for allegedly trying to extort money from Punjab’s former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
The accused has been identified as Deepak Shrimant Kabale of Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Rupnagar SSP Gulneet Khurana, while talking to HT on Monday, disclosed that the accused had been making ransom calls to the former CM demanding ₹2 crore.
The accused also allegedly gave death threats to ex-CM Channi if the ransom amount wasn’t paid to him. The SSP added that the accused had introduced himself as a member of a gang run by infamous gangster Goldy Brar.
“The accused was arrested from Nagpur in Maharashtra. After making the ransom calls to the ex-CM, the accused already deleted the WhatsApp account using which he had made the ransom call. The accused had made the extortion call to make easy money,” said the SSP.
The police said they had registered a case under sections 387 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code on March 2, after a video of Channi disclosing about the ransom call went viral on social media.
The police revealed that the accused had graduated in hotel management and had been working as a chef in a reputed hotel in the past. Currently, he is in the stock exchange business. As per preliminary investigation, the accused was aware that he was making ransom calls to the Punjab’s former CM.
“It was after going through social media videos and news items relating to Punjab that he (accused) decided to make a ransom call to Channi. He got Channi’s mobile number from the Internet. Since gangster Goldy Brar had been in the news for his activities, the accused introduced himself as a member of his gang,” said a senior police officer while talking about the modus operandi of the accused.
The police said though the accused had no criminal background, they had obtained a three-day police remand to interrogate him.
Police trying to cover up ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation: Channi
Former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, while reacting to the arrest of the accused, said the arrested individual was not the same person who made the ransom call to him. Calling the arrest of the accused by the Rupnagar police an eyewash to cover the alleged deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Channi said the individual who made the ransom call was fluent in Punjabi and had a Punjabi accent too. “The arrested individual can’t even speak Punjabi. He is not the one who made the call for extortion,” said Channi.
