3 running extortion racket held after exchange of fire
Three persons, who demanded extortion money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, were arrested after a brief encounter at Lubanianwali village on the Muktsar-Ferozepur road here on Saturday night.
The accused had demanded Rs 1 crore extortion money from a businessman two days ago. The businessman lodged a complaint with the police, following which an FIR was registered against unidentified persons.
Muktsar SSP Tushar Gupta said a plan was chalked out to arrest the accused and the complainant was asked to negotiate with them.
The SSP said the extortionists agreed to take Rs 15 lakh and asked the complainant to come to Lubanianwali village to hand over the money. The accused came on a motorcycle on Saturday night and tried to run away after getting the money. However, a police team surrounded them.
“One of the extortionists opened fire on the police team. In retaliation, the police also fired upon them and one of them (Sukhmandar Singh) got injured. He and two others (Lakhvir Singh and Sarwan Singh) were arrested,” said the SSP.
During the preliminary investigation, it came to light that one of the accused was an employee of the businessman. “The injured accused is admitted to the hospital. Now, we will seek police remand of these accused and try to ascertain their backward links. As of now, it appears they are not associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang,” added the SSP.