Haridwar: A 19-year-old along has been arrested along with his accomplice for allegedly impersonating Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son and attempting to extort Rs 5 lakh from BJP MLA Adesh Chauhan of Haridwar’s Ranipur over the phone.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police, Pramod Singh Dobal, confirmed that the main accused, Priyanshu Pant, had called the MLA and demanded money. The trio committed the crime in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle, as reported by PTI.
The incident took place on Sunday evening when MLA Adesh Chauhan received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested a Rs 5 lakh donation for the party fund. Suspicious of the request, Chauhan questioned the caller, who then resorted to offensive language and threatened to damage his reputation on social media if the money was not given.
After the incident, a complaint was lodged at the Bahadarabad police station under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
SSP Dobal told Republic News that the police traced the phone’s location using call detail records and IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers, leading them to the national capital. After conducting multiple raids in Delhi and Ghaziabad, they arrested Priyanshu Pant in Delhi along with the phone used for the calls.
While Pant was arrested from Delhi on Monday evening, his accomplice, Uvesh Ahmed, was caught in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district. The police are still searching for the third suspect, Gaurav Nath.
