Pune, May 21 (PTI) Pimpri Chinchwad police have arrested three persons allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang from Uttarakhand for allegedly firing at a furniture shop owner in the district after he did not meet the gang’s demand for extortion money.
The accused were identified as Parveen Ramniwas (22) from Jhajjar, Pankaj Kuldeep (21) from Rohtak and Sagar Ajaypal (21) from Sonipat in Haryana. All three were nabbed from Haridwar, an official said.
According to police, businessman Jagdish Bheraram Bishnoi and his partner Ashok Kumar Bishnoi received a WhatsApp call from an international number on May 7. The caller demanded Rs 2 crore and threatened to kill them if the amount was not paid.
The duo did not pay any money as demanded.
On May 15, two motorcycle-borne men opened fire on Jagdish Bishnoi outside A J Furniture Mall at Punawale near Ravet in Pune district. The assailants fired five to six rounds from pistols with the intention to kill him though he escaped, police said.
A case was registered at Ravet police station and Pimpri Chichwad police commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey directed a parallel probe into the case, following which seven teams were formed.
Investigators examined around 350 to 400 CCTV footage videos and also checked several lodges where the suspects could have stayed. Police later identified the accused and traced their movements through technical analysis and local intelligence inputs.
Since the suspects were from Haryana, a police team was sent to Rohtak. The officials then received information that the suspects were in Haridwar, following which they were apprehended, the official said.
During interrogation, the three accused allegedly confessed to their involvement in the firing incident.
A local court remanded them in police custody till May 28.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused allegedly committed the crime at the behest of Bishnoi gang members Arzoo Bishnoi, Shubham Lonkar and Kuldeep alias Kashish, police said.
Kuldeep alias Kashish is an accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, officials said.
Police claimed the gang members had supplied pistols, cartridges, money and vehicles to the accused through intermediaries. PTI SPK KRK
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