Man held for bid to extort 2 bizmen in gangster’s name

New Delhi : A 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly making extortion calls in the name of gangster Neeraj Bawana and demanding money from two businessmen, police said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Nitin Manchanda, a resident of the Majlish Park area, police said. On September 11 and 18, a businessman Nitesh Gupta received a call asking for extortion of Rs 5 lakh in the name of gangster Neeraj Bawana. The accused threatened Gupta with dire consequences if his demands were not met, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Satish Kumar said.

“An FIR was registered and further investigation was taken up. We got to know that the caller had used a particularly Haryana accent. The team identified the caller as Nitin,” the DCP said.

During interrogation, Manchanda revealed that he had made similar calls to another businessman in Adarsh Nagar. A complaint was already filed at the Adarsh Nagar police station, he said.

He also told the police that he had read about the gangsters on social media and newspapers. In a bid to make quick money, he made the extortion calls, the DCP added. “The mobile phone and the sim cards used to make extortion calls were recovered from his house. He has no criminal record.” DCP Kumar said.