Delhi man’s house, restaurant fired at, his children stalked over Rs 50 lakh extortion demand

The main accused , a 19-year-old man, and his two juvenile associates harassed the restauranteur and his family for a month before they were caught.

For a month, a restauranteur in Rohini suffered gunshots outside his establishment and his home, and his children being stalked as they headed to school because a criminal gang did not accept his refusal to cave in to their demand to pay up Rs 50 lakh.

The 19-year-old main accused in police custody, August 26, 2019. (HT Photo)

On Monday, his troubles may have ended with the Delhi Police announcing that they had caught three suspects in the case — a 19-year-old man and his two juvenile associates.

DCP (outer-north district) Gaurav Sharma said that the first extortion call to the restauranteur, whose identity the police withheld, was made on July 18. “The caller warned of harm to the restaurant owner’s family if he did not pay Rs 50 lakh, but the victim refused. So, the extortionists fired outside his restaurant,” said the DCP.

The businessman approached the Bawana police station after which a case was registered and police provided security to his family. “When we probed the phone number, we found that the number belonged to someone whose phone was snatched by two motorcycle-borne men just hours before the call was made,” said the DCP.

The police sought the phone owner’s help to prepare a sketch of the suspects, but it didn’t help.

Two days later, the extortionists targeted the businessman again.

“They fired outside his restaurant and then, within the hour, outside his house as well,” said the DCP. The security for the businessman and his family was further enhanced

The next call demanding money came on August 5. Like the first time, this one too was made from a phone they had snatched just minutes ago in the same area. Fortunately for the police, the phone’s owner helped prepare a sketch of the suspects.

The latest call to the restaurant owner was made on August 18. “The extortionists told him that they knew his children had missed their school bus a few days earlier. It was a warning that his children could be targeted next,” said the DCP.

Police enquired with locals from where the man’s children usually boarded their school bus. They were told that a man named Pramod — the restaurant owner’s neighbour — was seen with some youngsters that morning, said the DCP.

While Pramod couldn’t be traced, the probe revealed that the man he was with was named Rhythm. “Rhythm and the two boys were held on Sunday and they spilled the beans,” said the DCP. “They were found to be involved in 10 robberies and snatchings,” he said, adding that they were operating on the behalf of a man on the run named Kuldeep who is an associate of notorious gangster Jeetender Gogi