4 arrested for aiding Rs 7-crore extortion bid against PIET vice-chairman

With the arrest of four accused, the police have claimed to have cracked an extortion case involving a demand of Rs 7 crore from the vice-chairman of an engineering college and school group in Panipat.

Rakesh Tayal, Vice-Chairman of Panipat Institute of Engineering and Technology (PIET), received an extortion call from notorious gangster Harry Boxer, who is allegedly operating from abroad, demanding Rs 7 crore.

SP Bhupender Singh said the accused have been identified as Ajay and Rohit of Adiana, Amit of Sewah, currently residing in Vikas Nagar, and Rihan of NFL Colony. The accused allegedly provided information about the college owner to the gangster.

In his complaint to the Samalkha police, Rakesh Tayal said he was at the college on Friday when he received a WhatsApp call from a foreign number. The caller identified himself as Harry Boxer and claimed that he knew everything about Tayal and his family.

According to the complainant, Harry Boxer demanded Rs 7 crore and gave him 24 hours to pay the amount. The caller also sent a voice note asking Tayal to confirm his voice and threatened him with dire consequences if he blocked the number or approached the police.

Following the complaint, a case was registered at the Samalkha police station and the investigation was handed over to Inspector Phool Kumar, in-charge of CIA-1. Security has also been provided to the complainant, SP Bhupender Singh said.

He further said that, with the support of the cyber cell, technical evidence and intelligence inputs, the CIA-1 team arrested the four accused — Ajay, Amit, Rihan and Rohit — on Friday evening.

During the preliminary investigation, the accused allegedly admitted their involvement in the case and confessed to providing information about the college owner to the gangster.

SP Bhupender Singh said the investigation revealed that Ajay had gone to the US through the illegal “donkey route” in 2022 and was deported to India in 2026. During his stay in the US, he allegedly came in contact with Harry Boxer. The gangster later contacted Ajay through an app and lured him into collecting information about the college owner.

Ajay allegedly shared the information with his friend Rohit, who, along with Amit, contacted Rihan. As an ex-student of the institution, Rihan allegedly had detailed knowledge of the campus. The four then reportedly conducted a recce of the institution, collected information and shared it with the gangster through an app, following which the extortion demand was made.

The CIA-1 team produced the accused before a court on Saturday, which remanded them to five days of police custody.

SP Bhupender Singh said crime and criminals would not be allowed to flourish in any form in the district.

He also appealed to the youth to focus on sports and education and not to ruin their future by falling under the influence of anti-social elements.