Pimpri-based film financer seen in Kapil Sharma show gets extortion call, Bishnoi gang member booked

The FIR also mentions that Waghchoure appeared in Kapil Sharma’s comedy show and ‘The Khatra Khatra Show’ on television.

In the FIR, Waghchoure stated that he has about 25 million Instagram followers and that he became famous by wearing about three kilograms of gold ornaments at various social and commercial events.

According to the complaint, on the evening of January 25, Waghchoure received two missed calls on WhatsApp from an international number. He did not take the calls. Sometime later, he received a message which read, “Shubham Lonkar, Cl me,” and a WhatsApp call again, which he answered this time.

The caller identified himself as Shubham Lonkar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Lonkar is a wanted accused in the former MLA Baba Siddique murder case in Mumbai.

The FIR mentions that the caller, claiming to be Lonkar, asked Waghchoure to search about him on Google. The next day, on the evening of January 26, Waghchoure again got a WhatsApp call from an international number. As he did not pick up this call, within some time, he received a WhatsApp message demanding Rs 5 crore extortion amount from another international number. According to the FIR, in this message, Shubham Lonkar threatened Waghchoure to give Rs 5 crore within five days, or else he would be killed like Baba Siddique.

Waghchoure then contacted his lawyer, Atish Landge, and filed a police complaint. The police have booked the accused Shubham Lonkar under Section 308 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The crime branch of the Pimpri Chinchwad police is conducting an investigation into this case. The police suspect the accused may have used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for making extortion calls to Waghchoure. They are also probing whether the call was actually made by Lonkar or by someone else using his name for extortion.