Six days after unidentified persons allegedly hurled a petrol bomb at the residence of the sarpanch of Sudhar village in the Ramdass area near the International Border with Pakistan, the police on Saturday claimed to have busted a major extortion racket linked to foreign-based gangster Jeevan Fauji. The police have arrested four persons in connection with the case. Their interrogation also led to the cracking of another similar incident in which unidentified assailants had opened fire outside a house in the same village.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural) Sohail Qasim Mir said the arrested accused have been identified as Kulwinder Singh, alias Bhullar, Akashdeep Singh, alias Kauda, Akashdeep Singh, alias Baba, and Jagtar Singh. According to the police, the accused were allegedly in contact with gangster Jeevan Fauji.
Sharing details of the investigation, the SSP said Jasbir Singh of Sudhar village had lodged a complaint alleging that he received an extortion call from Jeevan Fauji demanding Rs 30 lakh. Later, unidentified assailants allegedly fired at his house on the night of May 5 with the intention to kill him.
In another incident, Nishan Singh, the sarpanch of the same village, allegedly received an extortion call demanding Rs 50 lakh. On the night of May 9, unidentified persons allegedly hurled a petrol bomb at his residence, damaging property and allegedly attempting to target the family. Initially, the police had denied reports of any blast at the house.
The SSP said that during interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly confessed to being in contact with gangster Jeevan Fauji and one of his associates based abroad. The police claimed that the accused were carrying out extortion activities on their instructions. According to the SSP, the accused also revealed that directions regarding the petrol bomb attack were issued through a video call by the gangster operating from abroad.
The police said further investigations are underway and more disclosures are expected in the case.
