The Amritsar Rural Police have arrested two members of an alleged extortion gang involved in threatening traders and shopkeepers to extort money.
The police also recovered the mobile phone allegedly used by the accused to make extortion calls. Three other members of the five-member gang are still absconding and raids were on to arrest them, said Harchand Singh Sandhu, SHO, Chatiwind police station.
Sandhu said the accused, identified as Sukhdev Singh and another accomplice, were taken into custody during a targeted operation. The suspects are being interrogated to trace the remaining gang members and uncover the network’s activities.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang had been targeting businessmen and traders in the area for a long time. The accused allegedly demanded protection money over phone calls and threatened to harm them and their family members those who refused to pay. To create fear among victims, the gang is also accused of opening fire outside shops, homes and business establishments, the SHO said.
He said efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused, identified as Vishal, Shamsher Singh and Harpreet Singh, alias Happy. Investigators suspect that one of the absconding accused may be armed, prompting the police to intensify search operations.
The accused have been produced before a court and sent to police custody for further questioning. The police are examining the number of traders allegedly targeted by the gang and whether the accused were involved in other extortion and firing incidents.
