Patna: State labour resource minister Santosh Kumar Singh said on Tuesday that he received a death threat and extortion call from a person, claiming to be associated with the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Singh registered a complaint with Kotwali police station and said that the person allegedly demanded Rs 30 lakh as extortion money over the phone and also issued death threats to him, saying he would meet similar fate as that of former MLA and NCP leader Baba Siddique. Following the initial conversation, the minister said that the caller phoned again, detailing his personal information. The FIR was registered at Kotwali police station in this connection on Tuesday. To investigate the matter, Kotwali’s SHO Rajan Kumar reached the office of the minister at the Niyojan Bhavan. The minister was in his office when he received the threatening call and message from the unknown caller, said the SHO. The SHO told this reporter that the minister received five calls between 2pm and 3pm on Tuesday, of which he attended four. “The caller introduced himself as a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and demanded Rs 30 lakh from him. He threatened the minister with dire consequences, if he failed to pay the money. The caller also sent him messages and the scanner to pay the amount of Rs 30 lakh,” Kumar said. He added: “A case has been registered, and the police have launched a probe. Initial probe indicate that the call has been made from outside Bihar. The technical cell is working to trace the number.” “I have reported the matter to the DGP and have registered an FIR. I maintain a clean record and don’t have political enmity with anyone,” he said.
