Mohali mayor’s biz partner gets ₹20-lakh extortion call

The complainant, Paras Mahajan, is a business partner of the Mohali mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu in a real estate project

In the second such threat to an associate of former MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu’s family in the past 10 days, a city-based businessman allegedly received an extortion call for ₹20 lakh.

Mohali mayor’s biz partner alleged that the caller warned him and his family of severe consequences if he didn’t pay up. (HT)

The complainant, Paras Mahajan, is a business partner of the former MLA’s brother and city mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu in a real estate project.

Mahajan alleged that he received a call from an unidentified foreign phone number on his personal mobile phone and the caller demanded a ransom of ₹20 lakh.

Later, one of his friends called back that number and the person answering threatened that he was a dangerous gangster and if Mahajan did not pay up, he and his family will face dire consequences.

Acting on Mahajan’s complaint, police have registered a case of extortion and initiated investigation.

On March 11, Harpreet Singh, one of the owners of Brew Bros Microbrewery in Sector 80 and also an associate of the Sidhus, had allegedly received threat text messages on WhatsApp, demanding a ransom of ₹40 lakh. The person sending the messages had claimed to be from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Later that night, two unidentified men on a motorcycle had fired two shots at the restaurant-cum-pub’s building, one of which hit a windowpane.

Notably, the Chandigarh Police had last week busted an extortion ring being run by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi with the arrest of his aide Inderpreet Singh, alias Parry.

The arrest had come following police’s probe into extortion calls to owners of multiple clubs, restaurants and other businesses in Chandigarh.