Punjab police busts extortion racket backed by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police on Tuesday busted an extortion racket backed by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and arrested two of its key operatives, officials said.

Tarlochan Singh alias Rahul Cheema from Sector-26 in Chandigarh and Harish alias Harry alias Baba from Haryana's Jhajjar district were arrested by the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), according to a statement.

Two .32 bore pistols along with two live cartridges were seized from them, it said. Additional Inspector General, SSOC, Mohali, Ashwani Kapur said they had received intel-based inputs that some members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were making threat calls to extort money from businessmen and prominent individuals in Punjab and its adjoining states.

They were also planning to execute targeted killings, he said.

Kapur said preliminary investigations have revealed that both the arrested persons wanted to get fame and had made profiles on different social media platforms where they used to flaunt arms and ammunition to lure youth to work for them.

The accused persons used to offer "high-profile lifestyles to innocent youths by promising them a good amount of money in return", Kapur said.

He said that the SSOC got three-day police remand of both the accused after producing them before a court and further investigations are on to track down and apprehend other members involved in the racket.

A case has been registered under the Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code at the SSOC police station in Mohali, Kapur added.