‘Extortion’ calls see spike after Moose Wala’s murder

Ludhiana: Following the sensational murder of famous Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in which the probe has suggested the role of Lawrance Bishnoi gang member Goldy Brar behind the gruesome act, extortion and threat calls have witnessed a spike in Ludhiana district, with callers using names of different gangs and gangsters to threaten people.
The police officials said while some calls had their origin in Pakistan, other calls were mostly made by cyber fraudsters who used the names of the gangsters to extort money from people.

In the past five days, the Khanna police have received at least three complaints related to extortion calls in the name of different gangsters, including two calls in the name of gangster Goldy Brar. Khanna police confirmed one call was made from Pakistan, they suspected something similar in another case. Ludhiana city police too have received a complaint regarding an extortion call.
Ludhiana police commissioner Dr Kaustubh Sharma, who recently got an additional charge of IG-Ludhiana Range, said, “The Ludhiana city police had also received a similar complaint in which the accused posing as a gang member had made a threatening call to a city resident. During the inquiry, it came to the fore that the caller was a close relative of the person who had received the calls. They had some family dispute following which he had made the call. However, no FIR was lodged as the complainant was not interested in making a complaint.”
“These gangsters are not new; however, after the killing of Sidhu Moose Wala, these names have come to light again and now everyone is aware of their names and these gangs. Some people are taking advantage of the situation to use their names for extortion. I will suggest people to immediately inform the police if they receive any such call so that police could confirm if the caller is actually a gangster or some imposter. We match the voice of the caller with our records for identification,” Sharma added.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ravi Kumar said, “In scrap dealer’s complaint, the police probe confirmed that the call was made from Pakistan. The caller had used the name of Goldy Brar.”
While sharing details of the third complaint, received on Sunday, the SSP said, “It was a funny call actually, which the complainant had recorded. The caller introduced himself as Goldy Brar and questioned the victim why he was uploading posts on Facebook related to Sidhu Moose Wala. When the victim denied to have uploaded any post, the caller threatened him saying that he would pump as many bullets into his body as was pumped in Moose Wala’s body. However, the complainant wasn’t scared and asked the caller to reveal his name. When the caller did not tell his name, the complainant understood that he was a fraud. I have heard the recoding of their conversation and the ascent seems to be Pakistani. The caller has not sought any ransom.”
Khanna senior superintendent of police Ravi Kumar said, “The first complaint was received by the police about five days ago in which the caller, claiming to be Goldy Brar, sought Rs 5 lakh from the victim. After negotiation, the caller had agreed to take even Rs 5,000. Moreover, the bank accounts shared by the caller were located in Bihar. This was enough to identify that he was an imposter.”
“People must approach the police at the earliest if they receive such calls.”