Man impersonating as food officer held for extorting money in Punjab’s Pathankot

The Pathankot Police have cracked a case of blackmail and extortion, wherein an employee of a factory was threatened and coerced by an unknown caller.

The Pathankot Police have cracked a case of blackmail and extortion, wherein an employee of a factory was threatened and coerced by an unknown caller. The arrested accused has been identified as Ajay Kumar, resident of Ghali village, district Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh ,now at Shanti Vihar Colony ward number 1 near sugar mill police outpost HUDA police station Shahbad District Kurkshetra Haryana.

The arrested accused would be produced in the local court and his remand would be taken to further investigation of the case. (HT Photo)

Divulging more detail, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pathankot, Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said that the complaint regarding extortion was received at Shahpurkandi police station. As per the complaint filed by the factory representative, he received a call, where the caller identified himself as Rohan Randeep Singh (officer) and threatened to tarnish the reputation of the company unless he is paid ₹ 50,000 per month.

Promptly responding to the complaint, the Shahpurkandi police station registered FIR No. 19 on February 21, 2023, and the station house officer (SHO) and his team initiated an investigation to bring the culprits to justice. In addition, the Pathankot cyber cell has involved to assist in conducting an extensive search and tracking the digital footprints of the perpetrator. Through their diligent efforts, the police team successfully apprehended the accused, Ajay Kumar, son of Ram Krishna, who had been in hiding in Ghali village in Uttar Pradesh after committing the crime.

During preliminary investigation, the accused Ajay Kumar admitted to making the calls and blackmailing the factory employee due to his financial debts. The accused had been in debt and needed money, which drove him to resort to extortion. As a contractor, he had access to the labourers’ Aadhaar cards, and he purchased a SIM card from Delhi using the Aadhaar card of a labourer named Hari Sankar to send threatening messages via WhatsApp to extort money.

The arrested accused would be produced in the local court and his remand would be taken to further investigation of the case.