BHOPAL: Already suspected to be a fertile hub for pro-Khalistan gangs of Punjab to source firearms (particularly semi-automatic pistols from gunrunners), Madhya Pradesh now seems to be on the extortion radar of the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The special task force of MP police is working closely with counterparts in Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan, following extortion threats to at least six businessmen and wealthy individuals in different parts of the state, including the southwestern district Khargone – which is among the districts housing Sikligars (gunmakers/gunrunners) making and selling pistols to gangs, particularly in northern India, including those believed to be.
At least six cases of extortion threats in the name of Bishnoi gang’s key overseas operative Hari Chand Jat alias Harry Boxer, have been reported to police by businessmen and wealthy individuals in Indore, Khargone, Ashoknagar districts, and the state capital Bhopal within a month.
While the threats entail common modus operandi – WhatsApp voice calls and voice notes – the demanded sum varies between Rs 5 crore and Rs 15 crore.
The first such extortion threat in Harry Boxer’s name was reported to the police in Mhow sub division of Indore district around a month back, when the son of a prominent private hospital owner received the call and voice note, demanding Rs 5 crores.
The latest threat for extorting ten crore rupees was made in Boxer’s name to a middle-aged jeweller in Bhopal’s Kolar area on March 18 and March 20. In his complaint, the concerned jeweller has told the local police that the caller threatened to eliminate him like Maharashtra NCP MLA Baba Siddique on not getting the demanded sum.
Just a few days before it, a business man in the state’s commercial capital, Indore, received a similar extortion call/voice message in Harry Boxer’s name, demanding Rs 15 crore, after which a case was registered at the Tukoganj police station.
Prior to it, extortion threat was made to a prominent cotton businessman in Khargone district. The businessman not just received Rs 10 crore extortion call/voice message on his WhatsApp number, but the caller also posted a video showing masked men firing outside his house – a development which has also been caught in the CCTV cameras installed outside the house.
The extortion threats have not just remained confined to businessmen in western, southwestern and central MP, but have also been reported in northern MP’s Ashoknagar district. While at least three businessmen there have received threats in Boxer’s name, one of them reported the matter pertaining to Rs 10 crore extortion call.
“Acting in the matter, so far three arrests have been made in the case from Ashoknagar and Bhind districts in northern MP, one from Harry Boxer’s home state Rajasthan’s Bikaner. A reward of Rs 10,000 has been declared on the arrest of Pradip Shukla, who has emerged as a key part of the entire case,” Ashoknagar district police superintendent Rajiv Mishra said.
The three arrested men, including Manish Jangid (who was assigned the task of terrorizing the targets by hurling petrol bombs and firing outside the houses), besides Pawan Sharma and Dinesh Suthar, who have been found to be involved in transferring money to Manish for the performing the assigned task. Ongoing investigations have revealed that Pradip Shukla is a key part of men working for other offshoot gangs connected with Harry Boxer and had sent money to Manish in Ashoknagar (MP) from Goa.
In Khargone, meanwhile, the police have not just registered a case, but have also picked some suspected elements for questioning. “We’re particularly grilling some suspects, who have inter- state connections,” a senior police officer in the region told TNIE.
Back in Bhopal, the state police’s STF is working with STF/ATS sleuths in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana, who are already working on dozens of similar cases, where wealthy and celebrity targets, including Bollywood names have reported to police, about extortion threats in Boxer’s name.
Since the callers have been using VPN and proxy server routes to mask the IP addresses, the inter-state investigations will help more in making major breakthroughs.
Importantly, last month only the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency had reportedly detained Harry Boxer in California. It had happened days after the Mumbai police confirmed that Boxer had allegedly sent the three-minute voice clips to actor Ranveer Singh and filmmaker Rohit Shetty. In the voice clips sent to Singh and Shetty’s teams, he threatened the duo with “dire consequences” if they did not “fall in line” and meet his demands.