Punjab Police have busted an extortion module, which was allegedly exploiting the name of the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, with the arrest of its one member from Mohali’s TDI Wellington City. The extortion module was active in Mohali, Chandigarh, and the adjoining areas.
The arrested accused, identified as 19-year-old Vishal Kumar, a resident of Maloya in Chandigarh, was working at a local salon. Police teams have also recovered one .32 bore pistol along with two live cartridges from his possession.
Mohali’s State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Ashwani Kapur said that following several reports of extortion attempts and threatening phone calls made by an individual claiming affiliation with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Punjab Police had launched a comprehensive investigation into the matter. “After intelligence gathering, the Police teams were able to identify Vishal Kumar and his aide Kashmir Singh alias Bobby of Ghangroli village in Samana, Patiala, as the prime suspects,” he said.
He said that following reliable inputs, Police teams from SSOC raided possible hideouts of suspects identified and have successfully arrested Vishal Kumar from TDI Wellington City, when he was going to meet Kashmir Singh alias Bobby, who was suspected to have taken shelter in the area. However, Kashmir alias Bobby could not be arrested and the Police teams are on manhunt to nab him, he said.
Divulging details about the modus operandi, AIG Kapur said that Kashmir alias Bobby used to make extortion and threat calls to the affluent persons, including owners of night clubs and bars in Chandigarh, Mohali, and other adjoining areas; while, Vishal used to intimidate those targeted persons to collect extortion money from them.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that accused Vishal Kumar and Kashmir alias Bobby had also attacked the house of owner of ‘SKULL’ club, Mohali, on May 11, 2023, to extort money from him, he said, adding that further investigations are on and more revelations expected during the course of investigation.
Meanwhile, a case FIR — dated June 24, 2023 — has been registered under sections 25-54-59 of the Arms Act at Police Station SSOC SAS Nagar.