Thane, February 22 Unidentified individuals have been booked for attempting to extort ₹10 crore from a prominent builder in Thane, claiming to be part of the "Bishnoi group," a police official said on Sunday.
According to the complaint filed by the 60-year-old businessman at the Naupada police station, he received a series of WhatsApp calls on February 11 while he was visiting Madhya Pradesh for a religious ceremony. Upon answering the calls, he was told to pay ₹10 crore, or face death.
The caller, who claimed to be part of the "Bishnoi group," also told the builder that he was free to record the call and submit it to the police.
"The harassment continued on February 20, when the builder received four WhatsApp calls from an international number while he was in his office here. After he did not answer the calls, the suspect sent an audio clip on his mobile phone at 12:29 pm, which contained further death threats," the official said.
An FIR was registered on February 20 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for extortion and other offenses, based on the businessman's complaint, WhatsApp calls, and audio clips, Naupada police station senior inspector Abhay Chandranath Mahajan said.
No arrests have been made in the case, he added.