GURGAON: He posed as a Punjab gangster but his Haryanvi gave him away.The caller threatened a city liquor contractor with “dire consequences” if he did not pay up, and said he would call again to name the amount. But his Haryanvi raised suspicions, and the second call never came: police traced and apprehended the alleged extortionists before he could make it.A 25-year-old court clerk, Sumit Kumar, and his 15-year-old accomplice, a Class 8 student, were nabbed last week by a crime branch team led by sub-inspector Lokesh Kumar. Sumit, a resident of Sikanderpur, works for a lawyer at the district court. Technical inputs helped investigators track the duo.The case came to light when the liquor contractor approached Farrukhnagar police on Oct 28. In his complaint, he said he received the extortion call at 12.41pm on Oct 25. The caller allegedly posed as a Punjab-based gangster wanted by FBI. However, what made the complainant suspicious was that the caller spoke Haryanvi even as he claimed to be a dreaded Punjabi gangster who has made headlines and is wanted by FBI.Police said the idea allegedly came to Sumit while he was listening to ‘Kasht’, a Haryanvi album by singer Aman Raj Gill. A line in the song – ‘1 baje phone plus one aale numbera te’ – refers to calls from gangsters using foreign numbers beginning with +1. It allegedly prompted him to look for a way to obtain such a number, in this case, +5. He then used an app, which police sources said was based in Tehran and offered virtual numbers for around Rs 700. The service allows users to select the platforms to use the number, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Sumit chose WhatsApp, obtained a Chile-based +5 number and used it to contact the contractor. He then got the minor to make the call while impersonating the gangster. Sumit was to collect the money if the contractor agreed to pay, police said. Police are trying to trace India-based people associated with the app to establish how its services are accessed. Investigators are also checking whether the service has been used in other extortion attempts.
The song itself is also under the police scanner. Sources said investigators are examining its lyrics and video, which features weapons and references to gangsters, to determine whether any legal action is warranted against the song and its makers. An FIR was registered under Section 308(2) (extortion) of BNS.
