Jailed gangster held for extortion racket

Akshya Palda aka Akshay Antil, 22, is a member of the Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Monday said they have arrested a 22-year-old jailed member of Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi gang from Delhi’s Mandoli jail for demanding ₹5 crore from a city businessman using two cellphones that he had been operating in the jail for making extortion calls.

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Officers aware of the case said one of the phones, an iPhone 12 mini, and a BSNL SIM card that was used for making the extortion calls was recovered from the jail.

The arrested gangster was identified as Akshya Palda aka Akshay Antil, who was arrested in December last year by the Haryana Police in a murder case. At the time of his arrest, Palda carried a reward of ₹2 lakh on his arrest. Palda is also emerging as a suspect in the Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala murder case, said deputy commissioner of police (central) Shweta Chauhan.

“The SIM card was procured from a shop in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut by a constable posted at a police station in Meerut. The constable got the SIM card issued in the name of a CNG vehicle mechanic. He gave it to a criminal named Rakesh alias Raka, who was his informer. Through Rakesh the SIM card reached Mandoli jail where Palda and his cellmate Naresh Sethi, another member of the same gang, used it for making the extortion calls,” said an officer associated with the investigation.

According to the officer, the role of the UP police constable was also probed in an extortion case that was registered at central Delhi’s Karol Bagh on June 3 on the complaint by a garments businessman, who is a resident of Pitampura. A clean chit was given to the constable after it emerged that he had given the SIM card to his informer for gathering information about wanted criminals.

“The informer double-crossed the constable and gave the same SIM card to Jathedi’s associates through whom it reached Mandoli jail. It is now being ascertained how exactly two cellphones and the SIM card were taken inside the jail, despite tight security. Efforts are on to recover the other phone, a China-made basic mobile phone,” the officer said.

Director General of Delhi Prisons (Tihar) Sandeep Goel said, “It is correct. On the inputs from police, a cellphone has been recovered by the prison staff from Mandoli Jail. The prison administration continuously makes efforts and strives to check the illegal use of mobile phones in the jail premises.”

DCP Chauhan said that the businessman filed a complaint on May 30 regarding the threatening and extortion calls he had been receiving, and claimed that the caller identified himself as a hitman of Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi gang. A joint team of central district anti-auto theft squad (AATS) and Karol Bagh police station was formed to investigate the case.

“It was found that the calls were made from an international virtual phone number using an internet app. Technical investigation revealed that the calls were made from Mandoli Jail by using a phone with a BSNL SIM card. The suspect lodged in the jail was identified and on Sunday, the team got a search warrant issued from the concerned court. The team interrogated inmate Akshay Palda and arrested him after he confessed to the crime. The iPhone and SIM card were recovered from his cell,” added the DCP.

Palda’s interrogation showed that he hatched the conspiracy along with Naresh Sethi, who has now been shifted to Bhondsi jail. The DCP said the investigators will move the court to get a warrant to interrogate Sethi.