JOIN USExtortion call for Thapar, insider wanted Rs 25 cr
Within three days of receiving a complaint about business leader Gautam Thapar getting an extortion demand for Rs 25 crore, Delhi Police have arrested one of his companies’ corporate affairs head and his accomplice.
Thapar, the founder and CEO of Avantha Group, was among a group of industrialists who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his trip to Canada, France and Germany.Thapar and his personal secretary got SMS threats on their mobile phones.
The company’s chief managing director (CMD) received an extortion call on his mobile phone, demanding Rs 25 crore as protection money.
The threats came while Thapar and two senior executives of his company were in Delhi ahead of the Modi trip, police said on Friday.
Police were approached on Tuesday. Investigations began on a priority basis, given the profile of the victims.
The extortion calls were made using a SIM card procured from Manipur.
The SMS threats came from Delhi while the extortion calls were being made from Mumbai.
The SMSes specifically warned of danger to Thapar’s sons who study abroad.
Police first nabbed one Deepak Kishore based on his mobile phone location and he confessed to his role in the crime when presented with the evidence.
Kishore is a contractual driver with the DTC.
At his behest, Avantha Group's Jaspal Singh was nabbed. Singh, 47, heads the corporate affairs of Thapar Group’s enterprise Ballarpur Industries Limited, India’s largest paper manufacturing company.
Police said the two had worked together while serving in a private company on Delhi’s Barakhamba Road.
Singh held a high position there while Kishore served as a peon. Yet, they bonded well while they were there.
Police said Singh contacted Kishore to send the threats to Thapar and his associates.
“Jaspal revealed that being a close employee of Thapar, he had intimate details of the corporate dealings of Avantha Group and knew that the recently concluded sale of the power plant had brought in over Rs 4,200 crore,” said police.
“Jaspal utilised his intimate knowledge of the family and personal affairs of his corporate bosses to threaten them into submission and pay him extortion money,” police oficial said.
“He lured Kishore into his plan by promising him a good job and a good share of the extortion money,” he added.
“Kishore agreed as he was aware that Jaspal was a shrewd and cunning operative. He believed that Jaspal would be able to successfully pull off the plan,” police said.