Nainital: A well-known YouTuber, Saurabh Joshi, a native of Haldwani in Uttarakhand, has allegedly received a death threat from the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, police said.
Following this, the police arrested an accused from Haldwani who had sent a letter in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi gang and demanded extortion of Rs 2 crore from the famous YouTuber Joshi. The threat was issued through a letter in which the gang allegedly demanded the ransom from him to save himself and his family.
Nainital SSP Prahlad Narayan Meena disclosed that a police team was formed due to the seriousness of the case and the name of Lawrence Bishnoi gang being involved. On Monday, the police and SOG team arrested the accused Arun Kumar, a resident of Fatehganj Bisauli, Uttar Pradesh, from Rampur Road in Haldwani.
SSP said that during interrogation, the accused said that he used to work as a security guard in Mohali, Punjab, but the owner fired him from there. After this, in order to earn money, he threatened YouTuber Saurabh Joshi for extortion in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The arrested person had no connection with the Bishnoi gang and he resorted to this to make easy money, the police said.
Earlier, YouTuber Joshi filed the complaint at a local police station, which registered a case and carried out the investigation using various evidence, including CCTV footage, SP City Prakash Chandra told ETV Bharat.
According to police, the letter is full of explicit threats against Joshi and his family. The gang had warned him against approaching police or noncompliance.
“Namaste, Saurabh Joshi. I am Karan Bishnoi from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This letter is to deliver an important message. Our boss, Lawrence Bishnoi, has ordered you to hand over Rs. 2 crore in cash to our gang. If you fail to deliver the amount, you or any member of your family will face death,” the threatening letter reads, per police.
“You have five days to respond. If you go to the police, share this with anyone outside your family, or fail to reply, one of your family members will be eliminated. We hope you make the right decision, as even a single wrong step could cost your family their lives. For further communication, we’ve included our Instagram ID in this letter,” it further adds.
Joshi’s complaint and the contents of the letter have prompted the police to take immediate action.
“We have registered a case and begun an investigation. We are treating the case with utmost seriousness as the infamous Bishnoi gang is involved,” SP Chandra said.
He said the police assured full support and protection to Joshi. “The mention of an Instagram ID in the note is being scrutinised as part of the probe with cybercrime experts brought in to assist in tracking down the sender,” he said.
The Bishnoi gang has been linked to serious crimes, especially several high-profile extortion and murder cases in India. Recently, many of its gang members were held in the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
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