Miscreants demand Rs 50 lakh ransom from NRI

A month after some members of a gang opened fire at a cellphone showroom in Kapurthala to extort money from its owner, another incident of extortion and threat to a Kapurthala-based NRI was reported. At 10.30 pm on Friday, some miscreants fired gunshots outside the house of NRI Balwinder Singh.

The men fired nine to 10 rounds outside his house. The Kapurthala police recovered nine empty shells from outside the house of the NRI. After receiving reports of firing outside the house, Deep Karan, DSP, sub-division, and officials of the Sadar police station reached the spot and started probe. The police said suspects, who fired gunshots outside the house, had sought Rs 50 lakh ransom from Balwinder.

Notably, the said NRI had returned to Kapurthala from Manila five months ago. On November 5, Balwinder Singh had facilitated weddings of five girls from poor families and had borne the expenses for the same. A video of the event was also posted on social media. It is speculated that the video drew miscreants attention towards the NRI and his family.

ASI Pal Singh said Balwinder Singh had received a call on Friday in which suspect had threatened him and demanded Rs 50 lakh from him. The ASI said identities of callers and those who fired gunshots outside his house were yet to be ascertained. Extortion cases in Kapurthala have spread panic among people.