Police arrest brothers linked to gangster's extortion ring operating from jail

Patna: Patna police have arrested brothers Vicky Kumar Shekhar and Chhotu Kumar alias Abhishek, identified as henchmen of gangster Ajay Verma, who is lodged in Beur Central Jail. The duo’s arrest exposed an extortion gang operating from the prison and Patna urban area, with the siblings confessing to threats issued on Verma’s orders.City superintendent of police (east) Parichay Kumar said on Wednesday that the arrests stemmed from two incidents reported on Tuesday. “An HDFC bank manager in Chitragupta Nagar received a threat call from an unknown number, demanding immediate release of a frozen account belonging to Vicky after a cyberfraud. The manager lodged a complaint at Chitragupta Nagar police station,” he said.“In a parallel threat, a private school operator in Patrakar Nagar was targeted with a Rs10 lakh ransom demand, coupled with death threats for not paying the sum. The operator filed a case at the local police station. Given the gravity of back-to-back extortion attempts, a special team was swiftly formed. Technical surveillance and human intelligence pinpointed the brothers, using a SIM card registered to an absconding accomplice, Shiva,” the SP said, adding raids are ongoing to nab him.The SP announced plans to seek Verma’s transfer to a jail outside Patna district to curb his continued criminal influence from behind the bars.