4 arrested for collecting ransom from Mumbai jeweller by posing as Lawrence Bishnoi gang members

Mumbai: Four people, including a Nepal citizen were arrested at Lokmanya Tilak Terminal (LTT) in Kurla on Feb 19 when they arrived to allegedly collect Rs 5 lakh ransom from a Vile Parle (East) jeweller after he received a WhatsApp audio message demanding Rs 20 lakh and the sender claimed to be members of the Lawrence Bisnoi gang.Police said the accused were arrested when they collected the ransom and were about to take an autorickshaw from Kurla Railway Terminus. A Vile Parle police team was placed in Dhanbad in Jharkhand to nab the mastermind, who were believed to be part of the Jamtara gang.
A trap was laid at LTT in Kurla and the four accused were arrested after they came to collect Rs 5 lakh ransom on behalf of two cyber fraudsters who were impersonating as members of the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang. "Now cyber fraudsters are taking the names of Bishnoi to extort money from people through cyber medium. Our team is in Dhanbad in Jharkhand to nab the two cyber fraudsters who had send the WhatsApp threat message to the jeweller demanding Rs20 lakh ransom failing which he will face dire consequences. The amount was later brought down to Rs 5 lakh and was asked to drop at Kurla Terminus where the four men will come to collect," said Vile Parle police senior inspector Gabaji Chimte.The jeweller was told the four men would use the code word ‘LALPARI' two times and then he should handover the money. The arrested accused were identified as Deepak Dangol (19) and Faizan Khan (27), both residents of Pune, and Majid Sajid Khan (21) and Sahil Ilyaz Shaikh (20), both residents of Govandi, Mumbai. Police said two of the arrested were from Chhatisgarh and were currently residing in Govandi and Cheetah Camp, while one was from Pune."Faizan came to Pune a month ago from Dhanbad and was working in a private firm. During interrogation, the accused confessed that they were working on the instructions of two persons named Imtiaz and Wasir who are from Dhanbad," said the police.Based on a complaint from jeweller Ajit Jain, the team laid a trap and nabbed the four. "Jain approached the police when the matter worsened after he did not respond to the message. The caller made a voice call on February 14 and started negotiating the ransom amount and after negotiations, the deal was settled for Rs 5 lakh. Police teams in plain clothes were waiting nearby and keeping constant watch chased the accused for approximately 200 metres and apprehended them as they tried to flee in an autorickshaw and recovered the bag containing cash and mobile phones of the accused," said the poilce.