Eight Arrested for International Extortion in Punjab, Kidnapped Elderly Man Demanding Ransom from US-based Son

A gang of eight has been arrested for kidnapping an elderly man and asking for ransom from the son settled in the US. The incident took place in Kapurthala, Punjab, and it was found that the gang has links in the US and demanded Rs. 3 crores from the son. Along with the gang members, the vehicle used to kidnap the elderly man was also recovered.

Kapurthala police has successfully busted an international gang of extortionists that had links in the US. Eight members of the gang were arrested by teams under Harvinder Singh SP, Barjinder Singh DSP, Sukhninder Singh DSP Bhulath, and Jarnail Singh in charge of CIA staff said SSP Kapurthala Navneet Singh Bains.

The members have been identified as Guriqbal Singh alias Var – resident of Ghazi Gadana, Harmanjit Singh – resident of Bamuwal, Gurmukh Singh alias Gora – resident of Lakhan Ke Pade, Amrik Singh – resident of Khaira Dona, Karamjit Singh – resident of Khaira Dona, Germanjit Singh alias Chaudhary – resident of Nurpur Lubana, and one juvenile of Ghaji Gudana, Vijay Kumar.

On January 3, Lakhwinder Singh of village Gazi Gudana was kidnapped by Guriqbal Singh and his accomplices. They demanded a ransom of Rs. 3 crores from Lakhwinder’s son who is living in the US. However, due to pressure from the police, Lakhwinder was let go on January 6.

The teams conducting the investigation found that Pawanvir Singh, who is the nephew of Gurikbal Singh, did the recon for the kidnapping. He was arrested on January 11 with the help of information from an informant.

SSP Bains also stated that seven more have been identified in the case and the police is working to arrest them as well. They have been identified as Vijay Kumar resident of Bhikhe, Patwari resident of Kartarpur, Gurjit Singh alias Jita resident of Padde Bet, Jassa resident of Kapurthala, and Amritbal resident of Model Town Bhulath. Another accused, Lovejit Singh alias Kang, is a resident near Malsian but lives in the US.

A Tata Safari, which was used to kidnap Lakhwinder, was also recovered from the gang. Additionally, two motorcycles, one revolver .32 bore, six live cartridges, one country pistol, four live cartridges, one gun .12 bore, 10 live cartridges, 950 grams of heroin, three mobiles, and 1 dongle have also been seized.

The SSP also added that Gurikbal Singh and two of his accomplices called the victim’s family on January 26 and demanded a ransom of Rs. 10 lakh, along with threatening to kill them.

Vineet Washington