AMU clerk extorting money posing as Lawrence Bishnoi held | Hindustan Times (original) (raw)

A lower division clerk at Aligarh Muslim University was arrested for issuing extortion threats in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi. He posted eight letters through speed post to those linked with AMU and demanded about ₹2.5 crore. These threat letters to eight men in Aligarh were posted by the accused himself from the GPO at Connaught Place in Delhi on June 3.

SSP Aligarh Neeraj Kumar Jadaun addressing media at Aligarh on Monday. (HT Photo)

Two of the recipients, a reputed jeweller and known doctor of Aligarh contacted Aligarh SSP on June 6 and informed him about the matter. Working on the case, police arrested the AMU clerk from Aligarh on Monday.

Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Aligarh, addressed a press conference on Monday afternoon and informed that he was contacted by a reputed jeweller of Aligarh on June 6 after he received a letter seeking USDT 50 (worth about ₹50 lakh).

The sender of the letter introduced himself as Lawrence Bishnoi and asked for the transfer of Bitcoin through QR code sent by him. Meanwhile a reputed doctor in Aligarh also contacted SSP and revealed that he too had received a similar letter seeking ransom money by speed post with similar content.

“Aligarh police took the matter in all seriousness and assured confidentiality to complainants who were provided security cover so that nothing goes wrong while police began investigation with teams constituted under DSP Sarvam Singh,” Jadaun said.

“The accused was identified as Hasmat Hussain, a lower division clerk at Aligarh Muslim University residing in Sir Syed Nagar in Aligarh and was arrested within 48 hours of complaint. It was revealed that the accused had posted eight letters on June 3 with similar threats in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi,” the SSP said.

The DSP said that Hussain was in a debt of ₹80 lakh because of losses in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, and so planned all this to cover the losses.

Police has recovered the mobile of Hasmat Hussain through which he used to engage in Bitcoin trading and had a fake Aadhar card used while visiting hotels in other city to conceal identity.

Proctor of AMU, prof Mohd Naved Khan, on being contacted, said that the Aligarh police have informed about the involvement and arrest of the AMU clerk in a criminal case.

“There is a set procedure to deal with such matters and that has been initiated. Appropriate action will be taken against the accused in the course of time,” Khan said.