BHOPAL: 12 persons were arrested by Madhya Pradesh police in connection with an extortion case carried out in the name of key gang operative Harry Boxer. This is the highest number of arrests made in any of the six extortion cases against Boxer.
Out of the 12 arrested, seven hailed from Dewas district of western MP, three including Rajpal Singh Chandrawat are from Ujjain district, and one each from Khargone and Dhar districts.
SP-Khargone district Ravindra Verma said on Friday that interrogation and associated investigation revealed that Lokendra Pawar from Ujjain district and Sachin Patidar from Dhar district were the prime conspirators in the case. Sachin Patidar allegedly had a monetary dispute with the complainant businessman Dilip Rathore.
"The duo got in touch with Bishnoi gang operative Nagda-native Rajpal Singh Chandrawat, who subsequently arranged the contract shooters with the help of Dewas residents Malkhan Sisodiya and Raja Khan,” the SP said.
The shooters hired by Rajpal through Malkhan and Raja tried to fire at the house of the businessman in Khargone district’s Bhilgaon (Kasrawad) between March 2 and March 16, but they could succeed only the third time on March 16.
Subsequently, the video of firing outside the businessman Dilip Rathore’s house along with Rs 10 crore extortion threat (via voice note and message) was sent to the concerned businessman on March 17, after which the matter was reported to the local police.
“We worked on multiple angles on the basis of diverse inputs, including the CCTV footage outside the complainant businessman’s house. Dedicated teams were constituted and sent to various parts of western and southwestern MP, as well as adjoining Gujarat, which ultimately led to the cracking of the case and arrest of the 12 men,” Verma stated.
He added that Raja Khan, who is already housed in Dewas jail in an NDPS Act case, has also been arrested in this case and that search is underway for at least six others.
While SP-Khargone Ravindra Verma asserted that all those majorly involved in the case have been arrested, the complainant businessman Dilip Rathore claimed that the prime conspirator in the case, who enjoys political protection, has neither been named in the case nor arrested.
“I’ve rendered all possible evidence to the Khargone district police superintendent and also raised the issue with Vidhan Sabha Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar, during the former union minister’s recent visit to Khargone, but it seems the prime conspirator is not being touched in the case under pressure,” he said.
Verma, when questioned by TNIE about the complainant businessman’s claims, said, “As of now, the investigations haven’t revealed possibility of his (the man suspected by him to be main conspirator) involvement, but the investigations aren’t closed and all other possible angles are also under our ongoing probe.”
While the link between Khargone case and other five cases is yet to be ascertained by the SIT, a common feature in these cases is the use of the Signal messaging app by key operatives.
“Rajpal Singh Chandrawat who is the lone and main operative of the Bishnoi-Boxer gang in this case used Signal messaging app, to connect safely with other key players, Malkhan and Raja, who arranged the shooters.”
Importantly, during the questioning of three men arrested last month in the Ashoknagar district case, it was revealed that the highly secure Signal messaging app was being used by the first and second layer of Bishnoi-Boxer gang members for communication.
Among the arrested men, Raja who is already in Dewas Jail in connection with an NDPS Act case, is accused in 17 criminal cases, while his key aide Malkhan Singh Sisodiya is accused in five cases.
The Bishnoi-Boxer gang’s main operative in the case, Rajpal Singh Chandrawat, who was arrested on Thursday, after he surrendered before police in Nagda (Ujjain) is accused in five cases, including a businessman’s murder in Nanded (Maharashtra), loot and kidnapping in Delhi’s Naraina area, besides criminal cases in MP. He has been grilled by NIA in the past in cases of high-profile killings by the Bishnoi gang as well as illegal weapons trade. He was arrested in 2023 by Delhi Police Special Cell in an Arms Act case and lodged in the national capital’s Tihar Jail, where he is believed to have come in contact with Bishnoi gang’s kingpin and other key operatives.