2 NRIs among 3 seek Rs 2-cr ransom, 1 held

Amritsar, June 13

The Civil Lines police have booked three persons, including two Non-Resident Indians residing in Canada, for allegedly demanding a ransom of Rs2 crore from a trader. Victim, Naresh Kumar Khanna, said he and his two sons received the ransom call on WhatsApp.

The accused have been identified as Mohpreet Singh and Sahil Singh, both residents of Brampton, Canada, and Harmanpreet Singh of Chowk Mehta. Khanna said his son Gagan has been living in Canada for the last five years. He said they fixed Gagan’s marriage with a girl who originally hailed from Haryana, but has been residing in Canada for the last seven years. He said his son received a call in which the accused threatened him not to marry the girl. Initially, we preferred to ignore, said Khanna. Later, Khanna and his other son got calls from abroad on WhatsApp. Khanna said the accused demanded a ransom of Rs2 crore pointing out that he had not paid any heed about marrying his son with the girl. He said the accused asked us to put money near their factory on the given day. The police have booked the trio and arrested Harmanpreet. — TNS