2 arrested for making extortion calls to Delhi businessman in name of Neeraj Bawana gang

New Delhi: Two people were arrested for allegedly trying to extort Rs 1 crore from a businessman in the name of the infamous Neeraj Bawana gang, police said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Anand (29) and Ajay (22), residents of Salahpur Majra Dabas here. Anand, who was facing a financial crisis and was searching for a job, was earlier employed as a driver by the businessman. Ajay is his neighbour, they said.

Anand was sacked by the businessman after 45 days as he did not like his behaviour. The accused also had an argument with the businessman's son, according to police.

On April 16 and 18, the complainant received calls from the accused who claimed to be members of the Neeraj Bawana gang and demanded Rs 1 crore from him, the police said.

Police personnel were with the complainant round the clock to monitor the calls. The accused called the businessman to hand over the money at Rithala Chowk, a senior police officer said.

A policeman pretending to be the businessman's driver reached the spot but the accused kept changing the location, he said.

An analysis of the calls and the language used by the accused led to the suspicion that an insider was behind this. The caller addressed the complainant as "uncle ji" and seemed to have inside information, the officer said.

This led the police to zero in on a former employee of the businessman who was sacked a year ago. Later, raids were conducted and Anand, the mastermind, was arrested, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Harendra Kumar Singh.

Anand hatched the plan to extort money from the complainant using the name of the Neeraj Bawana gang so that he would easily get scared. The accused threatened to kill the businessman and his family, he said.

Ajay, who was arrested later, made the calls. The mobile phone used in the commission of the crime has been recovered, the police said.