
Patna: Bihar Minister Santosh Kumar Singh has complained with the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) and other senior police officials after allegedly receiving an extortion call from notorious criminal Lawrence Bishnoi. The minister, Santosh Kumar Singh, has expressed concerns for his life in the complaint.
Singh told the media on Tuesday that he received an anonymous phone call on his mobile. The caller, who identified himself later as Laurence Bishnoi, demanded a payment of Rs 30 lakh. The caller also threatened dire consequences if the minister did not comply.
"Arrange the required amount within 24 hours and pay the same to my 'man', who will contact you for the payment," the caller reportedly told the minister before disconnecting the phone. Singh also stated that the caller sent several text messages urging him to send the money.
"I was taken aback when he revealed the registration number of my private vehicle," Singh added.
However, Singh summoned the courage to ask the caller to send his ‘man’ to his office to collect the extortion money. Following this, the minister contacted DGP Vinay Kumar and narrated the incident. The DGP promptly set up a special team to trace the mobile number used for the extortion call.
Singh is the state labour department minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet. The caller, who claimed to be Lawrence Bishnoi, also referenced the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui on October 12 last year to exert pressure on the minister.
"It may be a fake call in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi," Singh said to the media.
In a related incident, Independent MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, had also informed the police of receiving threat calls from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, demanding large sums of money as extortion.
Pappu Yadav had sought enhanced security cover due to these threats. However, during the investigation, it was revealed that the threats against Pappu Yadav were fabricated in an attempt to secure additional security.