Property dealer threatened with pistol, extorted for Rs 50,000 in Sadar

A property dealer in the Sadar area of Nagpur was threatened with a pistol and asked for an extortion amount of Rs 50,000, police said. When he refused to pay, the accused assaulted him and also threatened to kill him.

A case has been registered at Sadar police station against Aakash Kataria and Lakhan Hiranwar based on the complaint. Both accused are currently absconding and police teams are searching for them.

According to police, the complainant, Vishal Mishra, 40, is a resident of Azad Chowk in Sadar and works as a property dealer. On the night of September 11, around 8 pm, Vishal was sitting in his car talking to a friend when Aakash Kataria and Lakhan Hiranwar arrived and began assaulting him.

The accused allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 in exchange for letting his business run in the area. During this, Aakash allegedly took out a pistol and threatened Vishal, warning that he would be killed if he did not pay. Both Vishal and his friend were left frightened by the sudden incident.

Police have also learnt that the accused Lakhan Hiranwar has links to the Hiranwar gang and had recently come out on bail in a murder case. According to police records, the other accused, Aakash Kataria, already has 11 criminal cases registered against him. However, the actual status and nature of these cases will become clear only after police investigation.

Sadar police have stepped up the search to catch the accused. They are also investigating whether the pistol used to threaten Vishal was real, and if so, how the accused obtained it. Police are further probing whether the accused had made similar extortion demands from any other businessman or person in the past.

Police are scanning CCTV footage from cameras around the scene and gathering other evidence related to the case. API Nitin Vithole and his team are investigating the matter. The search for the absconding accused continues.