Punjab: 3 held in Mukerian for staging extortion plot to get armed guards

The complainant has alleged that he received extortion threats and that unidentified persons fired gunshots outside his house late on April 9

Police have arrested three accused in connection with a fake extortion plot, which a man in Mukerian district allegedly masterminded to secure government-provided armed security.

Police have arrested three accused in connection with a fake extortion plot. (HT File)

According to police, a case was recently registered at the Mukerian police station based on a complaint by one Rohit Sharma, who hails from Pandori village in Kapurthala district and was residing in Mukerian.

The complainant alleged that he received extortion threats and that unidentified persons fired gunshots outside his house late on April 9.

Acting on the complaint, multiple police teams were formed to investigate the case. They analysed CCTV footage, and a scooter used in the firing was traced. It eventually led to the arrest of an accused, Amardeep Singh alias Shubham from Pandori, on April 14.

During interrogation, Amardeep revealed that Rohit, who returned to Mukerian from Spain about eight to nine months ago, conspired with his elder brother Vikas Sharma, residing in the US, to stage the extortion threats. The motive behind the plot by Rohit, who claims to be a lyricist and writer, was to project a threat perception to obtain gunmen for personal security, Amardeep told police.

Per the plan, one Gurlal Singh, also residing in the US, allegedly made threatening calls to both Rohit and his brother. His accomplices fired gunshots outside Rohit’s house to lend credibility to the fake narrative.

After these revelations, two more accused, Akash from Bhopur Saida and Vinod Singh from Talwandi Deena Nath, were arrested on April 14. Mastermind Rohit, his brother Vikas, Gurlal, Jobanpreet Singh from Talwandi and Surinder Singh from Avan have been booked as well and efforts are underway to apprehend them, police said.