The Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested a 26-year-old man for extending threats to four jewellers in the national capital with the aim to extort money from them, an official said.

The official added on Wednesday that the accused identified as Abid, a resident of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, was inspired by the activities of gangsters and he intimidated the targeted jewellers to earn quick money.

The Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), HGS Dhaliwal, said that the police teams are continuously working on the wanted criminals and gang members of the criminal syndicates to curb crime in Delhi/NCR. 

“Due to the recent surge in extortion cases, the Special Cell investigators shifted their focus towards this issue to suppress this problem. They worked diligently to swiftly capture these criminals. After a case was reported at the Netaji Subhash Place police station, the team took immediate action. They recognised a suspect named Abid through technical surveillance and field operations. It was discovered that Abid had a previous arrest in a case involving ATM theft,” Dhaliwal added. 

Once the suspect was identified, the police team began a series of raids at potential hiding places in Delhi/NCR. 

“Despite several close calls, Abid managed to evade capture multiple times. He had vacated his rented accommodation in Shakurpur, Delhi, making it challenging to track him down. However, the team persevered in tracking his movements through various means,” said the Special CP. 

On August 23 around 5:00 a.m., he was apprehended in the Dayalpur police station area of Delhi. 

“His mobile phone, which he had used to issue threats to jewellers, was confiscated. He was arrested, and the concerned police station was informed to proceed with legal action,” said the official.

During questioning, Abid confessed that he had observed fellow inmates in jail extorting money from businessmen. 

“Impelled by this, he stole a mobile phone and used it to threaten four jewellers, one of whom he had even purchased jewellery from during his own marriage in March 2023. He demanded Rs five lakh from each jeweller,” said the official. 

In one instance on August 17 at around 11:38 a.m, Ravinder Gupta, residing in Budh Vihar, Delhi, and owner of Neha Jewellers in Shakurpur, received a call from a person identifying as Bittu Pandey. 

“The caller demanded Rs five lakh under threat from Gupta’s family. Similar calls were received by Radhika Jewellers, Verma Ji Jewellers, and Dimple Jewellers, all demanding Rs five lakh from each targeted individual,” the official added. 

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)