Mumbai police’s decoy operation nabs fake Lawrence Bishnoi gang extortionists, search on for mastermind from Jharkhand

During interrogation, the accused confessed that they were working on the instructions of two men named Imtiaz and Wasir, from Dhanbad in Jharkhand. “We have been investigating to find out who the link is between the accused and the victim. Someone has definitely given the victim’s number to the accused, added Chimate.

According to police, the complainant, Ajit Jain, 46, who runs a jewellery shop in Vile Parle (East), had been receiving threatening messages on WhatsApp since February 12. The sender allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh and threatened him with dire consequences.

One message read, “20 lakh cash firauti rse chahiye, Agar paisa nahi diya to jaisa bharat desh m ho rha ab number tumhara hai, Goli khane ka hai ya Na m jawab Chahiye, Lawrence Bishnoi Gang Canada (We want 20 lakh cash ransom from you, if you don’t pay the money, then as is happening in India, now it is your turn, do you want to be shot; want an answer, Lawrence Bishnoi Gang Canada).”

Deal set for Rs 5 lakh

The complainant did not respond to the message and approached the police. The accused made a voice call on February 14 and began negotiating the amount; after negotiations, the deal was settled at Rs 5 lakh.

The accused made repeated calls and sent messages on Sunday and Monday, threatening that the amount should be ready and instructing him to deliver the money at Kurla Terminus at 2 pm Tuesday. Following the instruction, the complainant sent his two employees with Rs 5 lakh cash in a bag.

The caller allegedly threatened the victim to wait near the Haldiram restaurant in the parking lot of Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, where his people would come to collect, and the code word was ‘LALPARI’. The caller said that once his people repeat the code twice, the amount should be handed over to them, said a police officer.

Around 4.30 pm, four people arrived. After conducting a reconnaissance, two of them allegedly used the code word ‘LALPARI’ and collected the bag from the employees. Police teams in plain clothes were waiting nearby and keeping constant watch, chased the accused for approximately 200 meters and apprehended them as they tried to flee in an auto-rickshaw.

The police recovered the bag containing cash and the accused’s mobile phones, the officer added. The police filed a case against the accused under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). They were produced in a court and remanded in police custody until February 21. The police have been questioning the accused to gather more details.