Former Employee Arrested for Posing as Bishnoi Gang Member in Rs 30 Lakh Extortion Plot
In a startling case of deception and intimidation, a former employee of a pharmaceutical warehouse owner in Lucknow was arrested for impersonating a member of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang and issuing a death threat to extort Rs 30 lakh. The Sarojininagar police apprehended the accused on Sunday, following a meticulous investigation that relied heavily on CCTV surveillance.
Complaint Reveals Chilling Extortion Demand
The incident came to light on January 30, when complainant Gaurav Batra, a resident of Rohit Residency in Vikalp Khand, approached the Sarojininagar police station. Batra reported that a duty guard at his pharmaceutical warehouse, Karun Enterprises, located in Hindnagar Transportnagar, had received a sealed envelope addressed to him.
Inside, a handwritten letter was discovered, demanding Rs 30 lakh to be paid within 15 days. The note contained a grim ultimatum: if the demand was not met, Batra and his employees would be killed one after another. To signal compliance, the letter instructed Batra to install a flag in front of his house, after which he would receive further instructions on where to deliver the ransom amount. The note was ominously undersigned as 'Bishnoi Gang, Purvanchal (East UP)'.
Police Launch Intensive Probe Using CCTV Footage
Based on Batra's complaint, police registered an FIR under Section 308(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and swiftly constituted four special teams to investigate the case. ACP Krishnanagar, Rajneesh Kumar, revealed that investigators meticulously scanned footage from nearly 100 CCTV cameras installed in and around the warehouse and Transportnagar area.
The breakthrough occurred when footage captured a masked man arriving on a scooter, handing over the envelope to the guard, and then fleeing the spot discreetly. This critical evidence allowed police to trace the suspect's movements and identify him.
Arrest and Recovery of Evidence
Following the CCTV trail, police arrested Umesh Kumar Yadav (38) from Rahimabad Road at approximately 12:20 PM. From his possession, authorities recovered the scooter used in the crime, along with a helmet and shawl that were employed to conceal his identity during the act.
Motivation Behind the Crime
During interrogation, Yadav confessed to the crime and disclosed his motive. He admitted that he was previously employed at Karun Enterprises but had quit in August 2025 after his settlement dues were allegedly not cleared. This grievance reportedly drove him to orchestrate the extortion scheme, leveraging the feared reputation of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to intimidate his former employer.
The arrest highlights the lengths to which disgruntled individuals might go, exploiting criminal notoriety for personal gain, while also showcasing the effectiveness of modern policing techniques like CCTV analysis in solving such cases.
