Gurgaon: A junior intelligence officer (JIO) with Intelligence Bureau (IB), who allegedly shared details of local businessmen with foreign-based gangsters, was arrested. Faridabad police said gangsters later used the information to make extortion calls.JIO Sikandar was produced before a court on Tuesday, which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody after he was nabbed by the Sector 30 crime branch unit on Sunday. Sources said Sikandar, a resident of Mothuka village in Ballabgarh, allegedly shared information about businessmen with gangster Randeep Malik, a Panipat native believed to be operating from the US. Malik, suspected to be a close associate of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is wanted in multiple criminal cases.Police suspect the extortion racket was being operated through a network involving local contacts and foreign-based gangsters. Police said the arrest was made during the investigation of an extortion and organised crime case registered at Sector 8 police station. Investigators found that confidential details of several businessmen, including liquor contractors, realtors and property dealers, were allegedly passed on to gangsters operating from abroad.According to sources, Sikandar was in contact with Faridabad-based businessman Deepak Goyal, who was arrested earlier in the same case. During the investigation, police learnt that Goyal asked Sikandar to share the details of the victims with foreign-based gangsters. Investigators said that after receiving the information, Malik and his associates contacted several businessmen in Faridabad and demanded extortion money.Police are examining the nature of the information shared and the number of victims who may have been targeted using the leaked details. The probe gathered momentum after investigators analysed digital evidence and communication records. During questioning of the accused and scrutiny of electronic data, police established the alleged roles of Goyal, Sikandar and Malik in the extortion network.Sources said Malik was also the alleged mastermind behind the twin low-intensity blasts outside two nightclubs in Chandigarh’s Sector 26 in 2024. Investigators are now trying to ascertain whether information about additional businessmen was shared and whether more individuals were involved in facilitating the operation.Officials said the investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged nexus between local operatives and gangsters based abroad. The arrest of an Intelligence Bureau official has added a significant dimension to the case, with investigators examining whether the accused misused his position to access or collect information that was subsequently passed on to criminal elements.
