Jaipur: Bikaner police Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old alleged operative of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang along with two illegal pistols.Police said the accused was also wanted in a high-value extortion case and other serious crimes.Bikaner superintendent of police Mridul Kachhawa identified the accused as Durgesh Soni, a resident of Phad Bazar.Kachhawa told TOI that district police were tracking the movement of multiple gangs and their associates, and, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted and arrested Soni.Bikaner police said Soni was wanted in a case involving a Rs 10 crore extortion demand from a businessman in Bhopal. The investigation into the case revealed links to three youths from Bikaner, two of whom have already been arrested. The third suspect, who was a minor at the time, has now turned an adult and remains under the scanner.Kachhawa said Soni was arrested with two illegal pistols. Police confirmed that Madhya Pradesh Police announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for his arrest. Investigators said it was from Soni’s mobile phone that the extortion call demanding Rs 10 crore was made to the Bhopal-based businessman.The two firearms recovered from Soni are illegal, and a separate case is being registered against him under relevant provisions of the BNS. Police are also mapping his network to trace the source of the weapons and identify those who supplied them.Kachhawa said Soni has links with Lawrence Bishnoi and Harry Boxer and was allegedly operating in Bikaner at their direction. Officials said he will now be handed over to the Madhya Pradesh ATS and later produced before courts in Bikaner in connection with cases registered against him.Soni is also an accused in a murder case. Police said his sustained interrogation is expected to yield more information about the gang’s operations in the region, including its extortion network and the supply chain of illegal weapons.
