Chandigarh, Jan 4 (PTI) A 20-year-old air-conditioner mechanic was arrested for allegedly making extortion calls to a Mohali-based pharmaceutical company owner by posing as foreign-based gangster, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday.
Suraj, a resident of Maloya colony in Chandigarh, was arrested from Verka Chowk here, when he, along with his aide identified as Mandeep Singh (32) of village Mangewal in Anandpur Sahib, was going to collect extortion money on a motorcycle, Director General of Police (DGP) Yadav said.
Suraj’s associate Mandeep was also arrested.
Police have also recovered two mobile phones and a motorcycle without registration number plate from their possession.
The pharma company owner had lodged a complaint with police that he received phone calls on December 30 from a man claiming to be a gangster. The caller demanded Rs 30 lakh as extortion money and threatened to kill the complainant in case he failed to give the protection money on time, police said.
Following the complaint, the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Mohali started investigations into the case and arrested accused caller Suraj, who was using the WhatsApp number of his aide Mandeep to make extortion calls to the target, DGP Yadav said in a statement.
While Suraj works as AC mechanic, his aide Mandeep is a taxi driver, he said.
Giving details about the modus operandi, the Additional IG, SSOC, Mohali, Ashwani Kapur said that Suraj, when going to repair ACs at homes, shops or companies, would identify affluent people as possible targets and would note down their details to give them the impression that their activities are being watched, to enable him to make the victim a soft target to extort money.
“We have sent both the mobile phones of the accused for forensic examination to find out if accused persons have made extortion calls to any other person,” Kapur said.
The DGP also urged people to immediately inform police whenever they receive such calls.
Recent investigations in such extortion cases by the Punjab Police have revealed that a very large number of such extortion calls in the name of known gangsters were made by unknown criminals, who don’t have any association with these gangs or gangsters, Yadav said. PTI SUN KVK KVK
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