Businessman gets extortion call

A local businessman and private school owner received an extortion call from an unknown foreign number here. The incident came to light when the victim lodged a complaint with the police urging them to ensure the safety and security of his family.

He alleged, some gangsters had tried to kidnap his son and later, had decamped with a rifle, cash and jewelry from the house in 2020. The police had arrested the suspects and recovered the looted goods.

The victim, a resident of Attari, told the police that three days ago, he got a call from a foreign number on Whatsapp. The businessman said he did not pick the phone. He said next day he got a picture of his family members in which the suspect had put a red cross sign on his wife and son. After this, he again got a call from the foreign number which he did not pick up. The caller then sent a message on his father’s mobile phone threatening that it would be better for him to talk or face dire consequences.

SHO Karampal Singh, Gharinda police station, said that investigation was in progress to identify the callers. A case has been registered in this regard, he added.