Amritsar, December 17
A Hindu leader, Ramesh Bhardwaj, has allegedly got an extortion call from unidentified persons. The victim told the police that he received calls from Internet-generated virtual numbers and the callers threatened him to be ready to face similar consequences as Hindu leader Sudhir Suri had faced.
Suri was shot dead in broad daylight by a youth outside Gopal Mandir on Majitha Road here on November 4, while he was protesting against alleged desecration of religious posters and idols.
Ramesh Bhardwaj, alias Titu Boxer, of Guru Nanakpura, in his statement to the police, said he was district president of Shiv Sena, Punjab, and also runs a catering business. He said on December 8, he got a call on his WhatsApp number. The unidentified caller demanded Rs 10 lakh as extortion from him and threatened to kill him if he failed to provide him with the amount within a week. He said on Thursday, he again got a call on his mobile phone and was asked whether he had arranged the cash or not. He said as he expressed his inability to collect such a huge amount, the caller threatened him to get ready to face the consequences and disconnected the call. Following this, he lodged a complaint with the police.
The Islamabad police have registered a case under Sections 384 and 387 of the IPC and launched a probe to identify the suspects. It is evident to mention here that there has been a rise in extortion calls by gangsters across the state. DGP Gaurav Yadav had recently stated that some petty criminals were taking advantage by making fake calls and urged people to inform the police whenever they got any such call.
Recently, a cloth merchant, Timmy Chawla and his personal security officer was gunned down by three gangsters in Nakodar. The police had arrested three shooters in the case.
