Chandigarh:
Punjab police on Sunday arrested a man from Mohali, saying this helped bust a racketeering racket run in the name of mobster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The suspect was identified as Vishal Kumar, 19, a resident of Maloya in Chandigarh, who worked at a local saloon, police said, adding that a .32 handgun along with two live cartridges were also taken from his possession.
Ashwani Kapur, Assistant Inspector General, State Special Operation Cell, Mohali, said police had launched an extensive investigation following several reports of extortion attempts and threatening phone calls from a person claiming ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
After intelligence gathering, police teams were able to identify Vishal Kumar and his assistant Kashmir Singh alias Bobby from Ghangroli village in Samana, Patiala as prime suspects, he said.
Following reliable input, police raided possible hideouts of the suspects and arrested Vishal of TDI Wellington City in Mohali as he allegedly met Kashmir Singh, who was suspected to be hiding in the area.
But Kashmir Singh could not be arrested and police teams are on the hunt for him, Kapur said.
The AIG said that Kashmir was making extortion and threat calls to the affluent people including the owners of nightclubs and bars in Chandigarh, Mohali and other neighboring areas while Vishal would intimidate them into collecting extortion money from them.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Vishal and Kashmir Singh had also attacked the home of a club owner in Mohali on May 11 to extort money from him, he said, adding that further investigations are ongoing.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
