3 min readPuneJun 27, 2026 02:57 PM IST
The Pimpri Chinchwad police on Friday lodged a First Information Report (FIR) after a 34-year-old Wakad businesswoman reported receiving extortion calls from a man identifying himself as Arzoo Bishnoi, aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
According to the FIR lodged at the Wakad police station, the woman runs a cloud kitchen business and lives on Park Street in Wakad. She said she allegedly received a WhatsApp call on Thursday from an international number. The caller claimed to be Arzoo and allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore and threatened to kill her and her family if the money was not paid. The FIR added that her husband in Dubai received a similar extortion call from the same number demanding Rs 5 crore.
Senior Police Inspector Ashok Kadlag confirmed that an investigation has been launched. The police suspect Bishnoi gang members used a Virtual Private Network to make the calls.
Extortion calls and a Bishnoi gang link
Last month, two motorcycle-borne men, allegedly acting on the instructions of Bishnoi gang member Kuldeep alias Kashish—currently in jail in the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case—opened fire at the AJ Furniture Mall in Punawale on May 16.
An audio clip and a Facebook post claimed that the Bishnoi gang was responsible for the attack. According to an FIR lodged by Jagdish Bishnoi, the owner of AJ Furniture Mall, his business partner Ashokkumar Bishnoi allegedly received a WhatsApp call from an international number demanding Rs 2 crore. Ashokkumar had refused to pay.
The police said Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar was also involved in the case.
During the same period, similar extortion calls, allegedly by the Bishnoi gang, were made to the owner of Veer Furniture, who lodged a separate FIR at the Dighi police station.
Story continues below this ad
In January, Pimpri businessman and film financer Sunny Nana Waghchoure allegedly received calls from an international number, where a person claiming to be Lonkar demanded Rs 5 crore.
Firing at businessman’s office in Pune
The Pune city police are investigating the role of a syndicate led by Bishnoi after unidentified suspects opened fire and shot four rounds outside a steel businessman’s office on June 22. The firing was reported after alleged extortion calls were made to the businessman by suspects claiming to be members of the Bishnoi gang. While no arrests have been made in this case yet, a pharmacy store owner at Wadki also reported getting calls from ‘the Bishnoi gang’ from an international number last week.