‘Bishnoi gang’ man threatening to harm Mumbai bizman’s family turns out to be his employee

MUMBAI: A suburban businessman was paralysed with fear when he got phone calls from a "member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang," threatening to harm his family if he did not pay up. He rushed to the police for help and investigators soon discovered that the caller was no gangster.Tejas Shelar, 26, who was an employee at the businessman's company, was arrested by the Goregaon police for the offence. Police said Shelar had run up debts over Rs 3 lakh in online gaming and was desperate for funds to pay off his creditors.

The 58-year-old complainant has an office in Goregaon. On Aug 26, he was at the office when he noticed three missed calls on his mobile phone. Around 10.30am, the phone rang again and this time, he answered the call.According to the FIR, the caller introduced himself as a Bishnoi gang member. He seemed to know everything about the businessman, rattling off details about his home address, the location of his office and factory, and the fact that one of his daughters had just stepped into the office. The businessman repeatedly inquired where the caller was speaking from and why was he being targetted. "Hame upar se message aaya hai," the caller responded.

The caller told the businessman that a contract of 25 lakh in cash and 1kg of gold had been received for his life, but he could pay a higher sum and reach a settlement instead. He added that four shooters had been sent to the businessman's home, office and factory.The businessman summoned the caller near Goregaon police station to collect the sum, at which the call got disconnected.After he lodged a police complaint the same day, a team under the supervision of DCP Sandeep Jadhav, senior inspector Suryakant Kharat and inspector Abdul Rauf Shaikh started tracing the call. Investigators found out that the caller's number was registered in a street dweller's name. Shelar had used the street dweller's identification to get a new Sim card from Ambernath. He used the Sim card for making threat calls to his employer. Police added that Shelar was well-versed with his employer's routine and assumed he could scare him using the gangster's name to earn a quick buck. Shelar was arrested from Ambernath on Aug 27, and produced before a magistrate court.