Daltonganj: The police on Friday claimed to have arrested a member of a Kuwait based extortion racket who was planning to fire at a jeweller for extortion. Palamu SP Reeshma Ramesan said the accused Shahrukh Ali was a member of the gang which has links to Dhanbad-based fugitive gangster Prince Khan.“Shahrukh was planning to fire at one Ranjit Soni for extortion. The idea was to intimidate the jeweller so that he pays extortion money. Shahrukh was asked to do so had acted on behalf of his nephew, Atif Khan, who is in Kuwait. Shahrukh also received Rs 30,000 for the job,” the SP said.Police however foiled the plan after Shahrukh was caught during an anti-crime checking on January 1 near Giriwar School in Daltonganj around 8 pm. “Shahrukh tried to escape but failed. He was forwarded to judicial custody on Friday,” Ramesan said. A country-made pistol, two rounds of live ammunition, one bike and a mobile phone was seized from him.Notably, two men with links to Prince Khan was arrested last month. One of them was also asked to fire at Soni’s jewellery store for extortion.Police have asked Soni to install CCTV cameras at locations at his shop and residence as well. “We are watchful too and assessing the situation as far as jeweller’s his safety is concerned,” added the SP.
