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Journalism of Courage
An unidentified person was booked for allegedly claiming to be gangster Neeraj Bawana and making an extortion call to a city-based businessman, threatening the victim with dire consequences if he did not pay Rs 50 lakh within two days, the police said.
According to the FIR, the complainant, who has a furniture business, said that around 4 pm on Saturday, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. “The caller threatened me with consequences if I did not pay Rs 50 lakh in two days. He claimed to be Neeraj Bawana. When I asked him again to repeat his name, he refused and said that he will call again if the payment is not made in 48 hours,” said the complainant.
The police said an FIR was immediately registered at Sushant Lok police station. A police officer said last month they had arrested one Anshu, a native of Jhajjar, and a minor from Bahadurgarh for allegedly making extortion calls to a businessman and his factory manager claiming to be the henchmen of Bawana.
Gurgaon police spokesperson Subhash Boken said a probe has been initiated. “We are trying to trace the accused. We are also checking if there is any connection to the arrests made earlier in another case of demanding extortion money by claiming to be a part of a gang.”
An FIR has been registered against the accused under sections 387 (putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.
Bawana, who has several cases of murder, robbery and extortion against him in Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, is currently lodged in a Delhi jail.
