Some ex-MLAs from Punjab, too, had received similar threats from these numbers. The callers spoke to them in Mumbai accent and in Punjabi, the IGP said.
"It is just that Fadnavis and I have swapped our chairs. Only Ajit Pawar's chair is fixed," said Shinde, who was the CM before the assembly elections with Fadnavis and Pawar as his deputies then.
'The attack on Saif Ali Khan yet again raises questions on Mumbai Police & the Home Minister'
The sources claimed that one of those arrested is believed to be Arsh Dalla, who is associated with the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and ran terror modules on behalf of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist who was killed in June last year.
Another threat has been issued to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, with the sender demanding Rs 5 crore on 'behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang', officials said on Friday.
In the swiftest action against erring personnel, the Central Bureau of Investigation has dismissed its four officers under a stringent constitutional provision and arrested them after they were allegedly found involved in staging a raid on a company in Chandigarh to extort money, officials said Thursday.
Over 100 Indian immigrants, including 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, and several from other states, were deported from the US after undertaking perilous journeys filled with extortion and hardship. The returnees landed in Amritsar in a US military plane and are now back home, facing huge debts and emotional trauma. Many of them were lured by promises of a better life in the US but fell victim to human trafficking and extortion rings. The families of the deportees are demanding strict action against the travel agents who facilitated their illegal journeys.
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) faced criticism from the Supreme Court for filing a "half-baked" reply in a bail matter related to the Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, questioning the accountability of the ED and its advocate-on-record. The ED's additional solicitor general, S.V. Raju, attributed the error to a miscommunication and assured the court that a departmental inquiry would be initiated.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has stated that his party wants to go solo in the upcoming local body elections to strengthen its base. This statement has raised questions about the unity of the opposition INDIA bloc and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP). Raut clarified that the party has not called for the dissolution of either bloc and that the local body elections are an opportunity to empower party workers at the grassroots level. He also criticized Congress leaders for reacting to his comments without hearing the full context.
One more case has been registered against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for allegedly extorting money from the relative of a builder and kidnapping him for ransom, the police said on Friday.
The city's traffic control room on Thursday received the Rs 5 crore threat message on its WhatsApp helpline, police earlier said.
Some online fraudsters got their target and timing horribly wrong on Sunday after they attempted to 'digitally arrest' a senior police official with an automated call over 'credit card misuse' while he was addressing a press conference in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
The Mumbai police have arrested a 20-year-old man from Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly issuing a death threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Nationalist Congress Party leader Zeeshan Siddique, an official said on Tuesday.
A sudden surge in political attacks in Bihar has stunned leaders of both the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan.
'The CM's credibility is on the line.'
Rajan will, however, continue to remain in jail in connection with other criminal cases.
A high-powered enquiry committee set up by the Indian government has recommended legal action against an unnamed individual after probing activities of organized criminal groups and terrorist organizations that undermined the security interests of both India and the US. The probe was ordered after the US alleged an attempt to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun by Indian agents in New York in 2023. The committee, which received full cooperation from US authorities, has also recommended functional improvements in systems and procedures to strengthen India's response capability.
Jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has written to the Delhi lieutenant governor alleging that Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain 'extorted' Rs 10 crore from him in 2019 to ensure his safety in prison, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Following the procedure, the CBI has re-registered the FIR lodged earlier by the Jalgaon police and later, taken over by the Pune Police on January 5 last year, they said.
Here are some instances of celebrities coming in the crosshairs of the underworld with cases of extortion, threats and even a killing.
A family court in Mumbai has ordered NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde to pay interim maintenance of Rs 2 lakh per month to his estranged wife Karuna and their daughter. The court denied maintenance for their son, considering him an adult. Munde's lawyer clarified that the court has not reached a final conclusion in the domestic violence case, and the interim maintenance order is based on financial considerations. Karuna Sharma, Munde's estranged wife, plans to challenge the order in the high court as she believes the amount is insufficient.
The solution to Manipur's problems lies in the government giving concessions to Meitis in jobs and education and to accept autonomy for the tribal dominated areas inhibited by the Kukis, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Mumbai Police registered a first information report against a man for allegedly demanding money from T-Series company owner and producer Krishan Kumar earlier this month for not filing a rape case against his nephew and the company's managing director Bhushan Kumar, an official said.
History-sheeter Guru Waghmare who was murdered at a spa in Mumbai had tattooed on his body the names of 22 persons who could potentially harm him, police said on Thursday as they arrested at least three suspects a day after the crime.
India on Thursday said it will pursue an extradition request with Canada for Arsh Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, the de-facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force, following his arrest in that country.
The issue of hoax bomb threats to more than 400 schools in the capital triggered a political storm ahead of the Delhi assembly polls on Tuesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party raising questions about the possible links between those involved and the Aam Aadmi Party, prompting the latter to strongly rebuke the claims.
Top Canadian officials have reportedly admitted to leaking details about India's interference to The Washington Post, but these specifics were not shared with Canadians, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported.
The killing of Naxal leader Vikram Gowda by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) in Karnataka was a last-resort action during a "chance encounter," according to the state's Internal Security Division DGP Pronab Mohanty. He refuted claims of an ambush, stating that ANF personnel gave Gowda ample opportunity to surrender before firing. The encounter occurred during combing operations in the Udupi district. Gowda had multiple extortion and criminal cases registered against him. The ANF recovered a 9 mm calibre gun from his possession. Following the encounter, combing operations in the forest area have been intensified to apprehend other Naxal members. The DGP also highlighted Karnataka's special surrender policy introduced in 2024, offering a rehabilitation package for Naxalites willing to surrender. The ambulance carrying Gowda's mortal remains overturned near Hebri on Wednesday, but the journey continued after the vehicle was restored to its correct position. Gowda's last rites were conducted on Wednesday afternoon.
Pujari is allegedly involved in eight serious cases in Mumbai, including firing, extortion and murder. A resident of Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli, he had fled from the country years ago. He had allegedly targeted builders and businessmen in eastern Mumbai, the crime branch official said.
'Hundreds of engineers have complained that they are being threatened by criminals for allotment of contracts and extortion.'
Rizwan Kaskar, the son of Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar, was arrested on Wednesday night from the international airport when he was trying to escape the country.
Shetty was shot dead by two alleged members of Rajan's gang on the hotel's first floor on May 4, 2001.
A woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to extort crores of rupees from Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde by threatening to accuse him of rape, the Mumbai police said on Thursday.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the death of a Kanpur businessman in a police raid, claiming that the case is linked to an extortion racket and "someone" is trying to save himself.
Police have filed an extortion case against Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Akbar Pathan and two other cops, one of them arrested for the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran, on a complaint by a man who is an accused in a cheating case, an official said on Thursday.
The official said Sukhvinder's brother Satpal possibly transferred Rs 2.50 lakh from Canada to his cousin Jitu Singh alias Jita in Gwalior to facilitate the November 7 killing.
Despite being lodged in prison, Bishnoi has allegedly managed to execute murders of many high-profile people, including Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala in 2022, Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in 2023, besides orchestrating firing outside the residences of singers A P Dhillon and Gippy Garewal in Canada, the officer said.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah is likely to hear a plea filed by Capt. Rakesh Walia (retired) challenging an order of the Delhi high court which dismissed his petition.
Bhatt was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and 20 years in jail in a 1996 case relating to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer in Palanpur. He is currently lodged in the Rajkot Central Jail.