Ahmedabad: An Ahmedabad-based businessman has alleged that he received a WhatsApp audio message purportedly from Goldy Brar, demanding Rs 5 crore and threatening to kill him and his family if the money wasn’t paid. The Canada-based gangster was named weeks ago in a fresh US federal indictment over an alleged transnational criminal network involved in murder, extortion and drug trafficking.The complaint, initially registered as a zero FIR in Rajasthan’s Sirohi, was later transferred to Adalaj police in Gandhinagar, where a case has been registered for criminal intimidation and extortion.According to the FIR, the businessman, 50, a resident of Adani Shantigram near Khoraj in Gandhinagar, runs a granite business in Rajasthan while his son trades in diamonds in Ahmedabad.Police said the businessman had travelled to Mumbai on July 7 and returned to Ahmedabad in the early hours of July 10. That afternoon, he noticed a missed WhatsApp call from an international number, and on checking the chat, found the same number had earlier sent an audio message.The complainant alleged the message, recorded in Hindi, claimed to be from Brar. The caller allegedly said the businessman had substantial wealth and demanded Rs 5 crore, warning that failure to pay would make him a “target” and claiming to have already collected details of his family and relatives.Alarmed, the businessman blocked the number, but alleged he then received repeated missed calls from another international number. Fearing for his safety, he approached Sirohi police on July 12, and the case was transferred to Adalaj police for investigation.Police are verifying the origin of the international numbers, the authenticity of the audio recording, and whether the caller had any direct links to Brar or was using his name to extort money. Officials are also examining digital evidence, including WhatsApp records and call details.Brar, wanted by Indian agencies in multiple criminal cases, has frequently figured in extortion threats targeting businessmen across northern and western India. Earlier this month, US authorities named him in a federal indictment alleging his role in a transnational organised crime network involved in murder-for-hire, extortion and drug trafficking.
