Bengaluru police unravel mystery behind ransom call using Lawrence Bishnoi name

The Hindu

15-07-2025

The police have arrested four people, including three habitual offenders from Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly making a ransom call to a city businessman posing as gangster Lawrence Bishnoi last week.
The suspects have been identified as Rafiq, a Bengaluru businessman, and Amith, Vansh Sachdev, and Sheeshpal Singh, alias Monty, all from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
On July 8, one of the suspects from U.P. called a Bengaluru businessman claiming to be Bishnoi, and threatened to kidnap his son and demanded ₹1 crore. Bishnoi is a notorious gangster linked to several high-profile murders, including that of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
After the businessman filed a complaint, the police formed two teams and traced the complainant's call records. The police were able to trace a car used by the suspects while in Bengaluru. Further investigation revealed that three of the suspects were from U.P. and had taken shelter in Delhi after making the call.
An investigator in the case said they contacted the Delhi police and, with their help, apprehended the suspects. They were brought to Bengaluru, while another team in the city arrested Rafiq.
The police said that Rafiq and the complainant knew each other. Rafiq and the complainant were involved in a land sale deal, and Rafiq strongly believed that the complainant had earned more. This led to resentment, and Rafiq sought to recover the money, prompting him to approach his friends from U.P., said the police.
'Rafiq told the others that the victim was naive and would pay them if they merely threatened him. He promised to share a portion of the extorted money if they helped him,' an officer told The Hindu.
Rafiq also covered all the expenses of his associates, who arranged guns and ammunition to carry out the plan.
The officer explained that the plan was to first make a call and demand a ransom. If that failed, they intended to proceed with the kidnapping and planned to release the victim once the ransom was paid.
Hakay Akshay Machhindra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division), told The Hindu: 'The prime suspect from Bengaluru (Rafiq), had an ongoing cheating case in Delhi, where he befriended the other suspects during court proceedings'.
According to the police, the entire operation was executed in just 48 hours. All suspects are currently in police custody, as investigators are yet to recover the weapons arranged for the plan.