Pune: Several businesspersons and shopowners in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad have received extortion calls over the last two weeks from alleged members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, raising concerns about the syndicate’s growing presence in the region.Two weeks ago, the owner of a steel-manufacturing company based in Wanowrie received an extortion demand of Rs50 crore after two men fired four rounds at its unit in Mantarwadi on the Pune-Saswad Road.On the same day, alleged gang members called a pharma distributor and wholesaler from Wadki and demanded Rs2 crore as extortion money. On June 28, another alleged gang member, Shubham Lonkar, made a threat call to a garment shopowner in Uttamnagar and demanded Rs2 crore in extortion.On July 3, the crime branch of the Pune city police arrested Pawan Ram, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, for his alleged role in the June 18 firing incident at the steel-manufacturing unit. Ram was employed in an industrial unit in the city.The Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch also arrested three suspects involved in the firing outside a furniture mall in Ravet on May 15. The accused — Praveen Ram Nisawas (23) of Jhajjar in Haryana, Pankaj Kuldeep Rathi (21) of Rohtak in Haryana and Sagar Ajay Pal (21) of Sonepat in Haryana — were taken into custody from a lodge in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Gauhar Hasan told TOI: “Based on our interrogation of a suspect nabbed for his involvement in the Mantarwadi firing case, we think that the gang is increasingly recruiting industrial workers employed in companies across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad and making them issue threats, conduct reconnaissance and open fire at targeted establishments.”Hasan said, “Many of these workers hail from Haryana and Rajasthan districts bordering Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh.”Officials said the gang exploited the workers’ financial vulnerabilities and offered them money for criminal assignments. Investigators suspect that several workers had already been approached to gather intelligence on prominent businesspersons in Pune — including identifying potential targets, obtaining their phone numbers and tracking their daily schedules. These workers allegedly carry out the groundwork for extortion and other criminal activities in the city.Police said a large number of workers are employed in industrial units and companies across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.Hasan said, “Moreover, Lonkar is from Pune and knows many people in the city. Some of these contacts could be involved in the recruitment process.”The Lonkar brothers — Shubham, who is still absconding, and Pravin, who has been arrested in connection with the murder case of Bandra MLA Baba Siddique — are under the scanner.
