Businessman gets extortion calls in gangster's name

A case against unknown persons has been registered after a city businessman complained of repeated extortion calls by people claiming to be associates of Haryana gangster Manjeet Mahal, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, a Delhi Police officer said on Thursday.

Kuldeep Sharma, 42, who has a construction and finance business, contacted police on Wednesday.

The first call came on October 24, with the caller asking Sharma to hand over Rs 25 lakh within six days if he wants to save his life and that of his family members, the police officer said, adding that Sharma dismissed it as prank by his friends.

"But the caller again contacted Sharma on November 2 and threatened him against approaching police. And when Sharma searched for Manjeet Mahal on internet, he was terrified and informed police," the officer said.

Mahal is involved in many cases of gang-wars, murder, extortion, ransom and other crimes in west Delhi's Najafgarh area and various areas of Haryana including Gurugram. His associates, Mohit Kataria and Tinum, have been involved in similar cases, the police officer said.

They often demand money from influential persons, politicians and businessmen in the gangster's name and could be behind the calls to Sharma, the officer added.

--IANS

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