Amritsar: Commission agent receives extortion call from Pakistan-based terrorist Rinda
PK Jaiswar
Amritsar, April 21
A commission agent and gas agency owner in Amritsar rural police district has got an extortion call from a gangster-turned-pro Khalistani terrorist Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, who is on the most wanted list in the country.
The victim, in his complaint to the police, alleged that the accused demanded Rs 5 crore as extortion money while threatening to eliminate his family if he did not cough up the amount.
Rinda, an A+ listed gangster, drug and arms smuggler based in Pakistan, has been carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for any information about him. He was allegedly the mastermind in the RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) attack on Punjab Police intelligence Headquarters at Mohali in May 2022.
The victim in his complaint to the police alleged that he got a WhatsApp call from a virtual number four days ago. The caller identified himself as gangster Rinda and demand Rs 5 crore in extortion money. Scared, he immediately disconnected the phone. He said that he again got calls but did not attend to them. Later, he got a voice message threatening to kill him and his entire family.
Initially, the victim was frightened and hesitated to register an FIR. However, he later approached the police which have registered a case in this regard and launched further probe.
SSP, Amritsar rural, Satinder Singh said that they were verifying the details and nothing can be said at the moment. Further probe was in progress, he added.
In 2022, there were unconfirmed reports that Rinda had died due to drug overdose in Pakistan. He hailed from Nanded in Maharashtra and took over the reins of Babbar Khalsa International outfit in Pakistan after the killing of Harpreet Singh alias Happy PhD.
He had migrated to Nanded from Sarhali village in Tarn Taran district many years ago and was wanted in many cases by the police forces of Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Haryana, West Bengal etc including those of large-scale cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons. NIA has classified him as a major threat to national security.
