Punjab saw spurt in extortion cases post Bishnoi interview, police tell high court
According to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, the state saw 300 extortion and threat call cases in the nine months prior to the interview. The number climbed to 324 in the corresponding period thereafter.
There has been an increase in extortion and threat call cases in Punjab after March 2023 when an interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was aired by a private channel, the Punjab Police told the high court.
As per an affidavit filed by Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, the state saw 300 extortion and threat call cases in the nine months prior to the interview. The number climbed to 324 in the corresponding period thereafter.
The affidavit came in the wake of high court seeking details of criminal cases, especially those relating to extortion/threat calls, calls for ransom, abduction and intimidation of witnesses in the state during the 18-month period.
The HC, while seeking the details, had observed that such interviews tend to glorify crime and criminals. It added that the said interview, which could have an adverse effect on impressionable minds, garnered nearly 12 million views on YouTube.
The details were sought in suo motu proceedings initiated while taking a serious view of the two interviews conducted with the gangster by a private channel while he was in custody (in March 2023), in November 2023. In the interviews, the gangster had claimed that he was not involved in the murder case of singer, Sidhu Moosewala, who was killed in 2022. He had also hinted at taking revenge from actor Salman Khan for allegedly killing animals. The interviews were aired on March 14 and March 17, 2023. At the time of the telecast, Bishnoi was in Bathinda jail. Initially, the state police remained in denial mode, however, upon HC intervention, an SIT probe found that while one interview was conducted at a CIA facility in Kharar, the second interview took place in Rajasthan.
Crackdown on social media accounts
As per the DGP’s report, the police have launched a crackdown against accounts promoting unlawful activities and 203 social media accounts have been blocked in 2023-24 by the Cyber Crime Wing of Punjab. Further, a total of 201 FIRs have been registered during the period to abate public display of weapons and glorification of gangsters, including on social media, the DGP has said.
Criminals such as Arsh Dalla, Harvinder Singh alias Rinda, Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, and Satinder Singh alias Goldy Brar have been declared “individual terrorist” by the Central government in 2023-24 on the basis of inputs from the state police, the affidavit stated. It further said that on inputs from Punjab police, the central agencies have nabbed Sachin Thapan alias Sachin Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh Bar alias Vicky, Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh alias Peeta from Azerbaijan, UAE and Phillippines in 2023-24.