Batala police arrest showroom owner for fake extortion racket

The Batala police today arrested a well-known clothing showroom owner, who planned an attack on himself to get security cover from the cops. SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said the police had arrested a total of six persons, including the showroom owner.

Police officers engaged in solving the case say they were "amazed at the audacity with which the owner conspired to get himself fired upon ostensibly to secure police protection."

A police officer said it had become a fad in the city for people “to roam with a couple of security personnel to impress others of their so-called influence.”

SSP Qasim Mir said on April 29, one Varinder Singh alias Vicky, proprietor of a well-known clothing showroom called ‘Fashion London’, reported that he was receiving regular extortion calls from gangster Dharma Sandhu, who was demanding Rs 50 lakh. “On the evening of the same day, shots were fired at his showroom by some motor-cycle borne assailants. Later, Dharma Sandhu took responsibility for the incident through a social media post. When Varinder met me, accompanied by an accomplice, I smelt something fishy. In any case, we got an FIR registered under the Arms Act at the City police station,” he said.

The SSP said he formed several teams to go into the sequence of events leading to the firing. “I asked the SP (D) to probe the case. After days of strenuous efforts, it became clear that Varinder himself had roped in shooters to fire at his shop. His only motive was to get police protection,” said the SSP.

An officer said Varinder had conspired with a London-based gangster Ranjodh Singh Jodha and Vishaldeep Singh, a resident of Canada. “The three devised a fake extortion and attack scenario to compel the cops to provide security cover,” he said.

The arrested have been identified as Varinder Singh alias Vicky, Rajbir Singh, Balwinder Singh, Sukhsahijpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi and Gurmej Singh.

SSP Qasim Mir added, “Public resources are misused due to such deceitful acts and they also divert critical security coverage from genuine threats. Attempts to bluff Punjab Police will be met with severe consequences.”

He said the police still hoped to nab a few more criminals soon. The police sources said the system that decides who gets what level of security and what strain this puts on policing, which suffers from staff shortage to begin with, should be reviewed.