22-year-old held for trying to extort jeweller of ₹30 lakh

The police arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly trying to extort ₹30 lakh from a city-based jeweller and threatening his life by impersonating a gangster, the police said

The police arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly trying to extort ₹30 lakh from a city-based jeweller and threatening his life by impersonating a gangster, the police said.

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The suspect, identified as Bablu Patel of Sarwai village in Madhya Pradesh’s Chattarpur, was impersonating Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster who had made the headlines for threatening actor Salman Khan and is facing changes in over 20 cases of attempt to murder, carjacking, extortion, snatching and under Arms Act in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan.

Bishnoi is lodged in a Rajasthan jail at present and has no connection to the suspect, the police said.

The police said that Patel worked with a garment export house and lived at a rented accommodation in Manesar.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said Patel used social media platforms to search names and mobile numbers of 20 city-based jewellers and started making threats. Patel is debt-ridden and wanted to arrange money for his sister’s wedding.

The police arrested him from Hero Honda Chowk with the help of CCTV footage.

The police said that Patel had gone to his home town when the lockdown was announced last March and returned to Gurugram last month. “He saved money in 2019 but spent all of it during the lockdown and for building a house in his village. He also gambled nearly ₹2 lakh away and took a loan for the same, but could not repay it and was facing pressure,” he said.

“He shortlisted 20 jewellers and made a call to one of them who has a shop in Jyoti Park, in Sector 7. He introduced himself as gangster Lawrence Bishnoi,” Sangwan said.

The shop owner, identified as Harish Kumar, was scared and did not reveal it to anyone but decided to approach the police after receiving subsequent calls on March 18. A case under Section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at New Colony police station the same day.

The crime investigation unit of Sector 17 zeroed in on the accused and arrested him from Hero Honda Chowk on Sunday morning. Patel was produced before the court and sent to 14-day judicial custody, said police.