Maharashtra: Nitin Gadkari receives threat calls at Nagpur office
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Union minister Nitin Gadkari's Nagpur office in Maharashtra reportedly received threat calls from an unidentified caller who allegedly demanded a Rs. 10 crore ransom. According to the news outlet The Economic Times, the threat calls were made on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's landline number of his Public Relations Office (PRO) in Nagpur's Khamla area.
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Previous threat calls received by Gadkari
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had also received similar threatening calls in January at his office and residence from an individual claiming to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, demanding Rs. 100 crore. On January 14, three threat calls were received on the landline number of Gadkari's PRO, following which security was beefed up at his Nagpur office and home.
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Police reveal identity of caller
The caller, identified as Jayesh Pujari, reportedly threatened the union minister with a bomb blast if his demand was not met. A thorough investigation revealed that Pujari is an inmate at the Hindalga Central Jail in Karnataka's Belagavi and was previously sentenced to death in a murder case by a court. Notably, Pujari made the call from the prison.
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Case filed against man for sharing offensive posts against Gadkari
In a separate case, the Nagpur Police confirmed that their cyber cell registered a case against a man on Monday for allegedly posting offensive comments on social media with references to Gadkari. According to the news agency PTI, the accused man, identified as Dattatray Joshi, made certain references to Gadkari in posts that were circulated on WhatsApp.
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Case registered under Information Technology Act, IPC sections
The case against Joshi was filed after Gadkari's office learned about the posts. A representative from Gadkari's Nagpur office reportedly filed a police report and sought strict action against the person who made the viral post. The police also confirmed that a case had been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act.