Pune Cloth Merchant Receives Rs 2 Crore Extortion Threat in Name of Bishnoi Gang; Third Such Case in a Week
Uttamnagar, 30th June 2026: A 47-year-old cloth merchant from Pune’s Uttamnagar area has allegedly received a death threat and a demand for ₹2 crore from a caller claiming to be associated with the Bishnoi gang, marking the third such extortion case reported in Pune within a week.
An FIR has been registered at Uttamnagar Police Station, and the Pune Crime Branch has taken over the investigation.
According to the police, the complainant owns a cloth shop in Uttamnagar and is also engaged in the construction business. On Saturday morning, he received an internet call from a man who identified himself as Shubham Lonkar.
During the conversation, the caller allegedly displayed detailed knowledge of the merchant’s business, vehicle registration number, daily routine, and his role as an office-bearer of the Uttamnagar-Shivane Merchants’ Association. The caller also claimed to know details about the complainant’s family before allegedly issuing a death threat and demanding ₹2 crore. He reportedly instructed the businessman to keep the money ready, stating that further instructions would follow.
The merchant immediately approached the Uttamnagar police and lodged a complaint.
Following the complaint, police stepped up security at the complainant’s residence, cloth shop, and construction company’s office in Narhe as a precautionary measure.
Senior Police Inspector Raghavendra Kshirsagar of Uttamnagar Police Station said the Crime Branch is conducting a detailed investigation to identify the caller and trace the origin of the internet-based call.
The latest case comes amid a series of extortion threats made in the name of the Bishnoi gang in Pune.
On June 22, a steel industrialist from Wanowrie allegedly received an extortion demand of ₹50 crore. A few days later, unidentified persons opened fire outside his factory in Mantarwadi. On June 23, a wholesale pharmaceutical trader from Wadki also reported receiving an extortion demand of ₹2 crore.
In a separate but similar incident reported last Thursday, a woman from Ravet approached the Pimpri-Chinchwad police, alleging that her husband, who is based in Dubai, had received an extortion demand of ₹5 crore from callers claiming to be members of the Bishnoi gang.
With four such cases reported in quick succession across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, police have intensified efforts to trace those allegedly misusing the Bishnoi gang’s name to extort money. The incidents have also heightened concerns among the region’s business community over the growing pattern of organised extortion threats.
