Chandigarh: School extortion racket kingpin, Rattan Lubana, not new to world of crime
The 25-year-old has been accused of running a protection money racket in the city.
Chandigarh
Accused in a number of cases ranging from extortion to firing, Rattan Lubana, is not new to controversy. In the last three years, he has been moving in and out of the jail.
25-year-old Lubana, who is also ABVP chairman at DAV College, Sector 10, and son of a BJP leader has been accused of running protection money racket in the city. He was arrested in January 2015 when more than 150 students of the four elite schools in the city had reportedly paid the accused — Rattan Lubana, Amitoz Singh and Rajveer Singh – for providing them protection and for acting against other ‘rich brats’.
The accused are facing a trial under Section 392 (robbery with extortion) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act, which prohibits sending offensive messages through a communication device.
Lubana and his accomplices targeted teenagers from affluent families, befriending them with the promise of “dominance” and “protection”, police have said. Initially, they asked for Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 at a time, and then for liquor or joyrides in their swanky cars.
They had even asked students to bear legal expenses if the gang faced cases. However, what was initially a mutual deal, later turned into extortion as the youth were allegedly threatening their ‘clients’.
During the trial, the accused threatened a school student in the court on April 20, 2015, following which a case was registered against them.
In August 2015, Lubana, who was out on bail, was booked again for thrashing and threatening a BA-III student near DAV College, Sector 10. He was arrested on complaint of Mantek, who had alleged that Lubana, Bharat Walia, Aditya Partap and Peyush Rao thrashed and threatened him near DAV College.
In May 2014, Rattan Lubana was involved in a firing incident outside Taj Hotel in Sector 17. He and two others had opened fire at a group of bouncers, injuring some, at a parking lot near the five-star hotel.
Rahul Sharma, a bouncer and Pardeep, a resident of Ludhiana, were injured in the incident. The bouncers were shot at after the accused were allegedly thrown out of a nightclub in the city.