Jhajjar chemist gets Rs20L extortion call

Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Jhajjar, August 10

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A local chemist, Mukesh Popli, got an extortion call of Rs 20 lakh and the caller threatened him of dire consequences on failing to fulfil his demand.

Though the police booked a case in this regard on August 4 but they are yet to arrest the caller, who told his name as Aksay.

Two aides nabbed

The police said two youths, Rajesh and Mukesh of Hisar’s Kharkari village, had been arrested for activating a SIM number used by the accused in demanding extortion from the chemist. The SIM was used while misusing someone else’s ID.

In protest, chemists on Monday went on an indefinite strike by shutting their establishments and also took out a march against the police inaction into the matter. They also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the district administration, demanding the arrest of the accused.

The chemists have also threatened to extend their agitation to the entire district if the police fail to arrest the accused by Tuesday evening.

Earlier, the chemists gathered at a chaupal in Hariram Mohalla here and decried the police for its inaction in nabbing the extortion seeker. Thereafter, they took out a protest march till the Mini-Secretariat and submitted the memorandum to the tehsildar.

“We are not satisfied by the police action into the matter as they have failed to arrest the accused even after being given sufficient time. The incident has caused a fear among all chemists who have decided to keep their shops shut until the accused is arrested. Chemists of Bahadurgarh town will also shut their establishments from Wednesday to mount pressure on the police,” said Sanjay Malik, president, Jhajjar Chemist Association. Rakesh Arora, district president, Haryana Beopar Mandal, criticised the incident and expressed his solidarity with the chemists into the matter. He demanded the police to take swift action to resolve the case. “A special investigation team led by DSP Rahul Dev has been constituted,” said Jhajjar SP.