Uttarakhand: BSc student held for extortion bid using Lawrence Bishnoi gang's name

Dehradun, Nov 7 (PTI) Police have arrested a BSc student in Uttarakhand's Haridwar for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 30 lakh from a businessman in the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, officials said.

Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramod Singh Dobal said the accused, identified as Ashish Saini, a resident of Bahadrabad, was involved in the crime along with his associate, Ajay Hooda, who made threatening calls from Armenia.

Hooda is a native of Rohtak in Haryana and works in Armenia.

Dobal said that businessman Ravi Kumar, who runs a vehicle agency, had lodged a complaint on October 30, stating that someone claiming to be from the Bishnoi gang had threatened him over the phone and demanded Rs 30 lakh.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered against unknown persons under Section 308(4) (attempt to commit extortion by threatening death or grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

During the investigation, the joint team of Haridwar police and the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) traced the threatening calls to Armenia. Further probe revealed that the number was used by Hooda, who was also in frequent contact with a number in Bahadrabad, Uttarakhand.

When police questioned Saini, he confessed that he and Hooda had conspired to extort money from the businessman by making ransom calls from abroad, believing it would prevent police from tracing them.

Police said that Saini provided Hooda with the mobile numbers of Ravi Kumar and his brother, which were used to make the extortion calls.

The SSP said that Saini has been arrested, and steps are being taken to initiate legal proceedings to bring Hooda back to India. PTI DPT HIG