The Ludhiana police today nabbed Shiv Sena (Hind) leader Rohit Sahni and his four aides for faking threats to life and trying to create a wedge between communities to seek more security. This is the third such case in Ludhiana in two years.
Earlier, Shiv Sena's Amit Arora and RD Puri were arrested for “stage- managing” attacks.
Besides Sahni, those arrested are Sanchit Malhotra, Maninder Singh alias Goldy, Prem Sagar and Gurpreet Singh alias Sonu.
Addressing the media, Police Commissioner RN Dhoke, who was accompanied by ADCP RS Brar, ACP Sachin Gupta and SHO Amandeep Brar, said Malhotra lodged a complaint on August 22, claiming he and Sahni, national general secretary of the outfit, had received threats from two motorcycle-borne Sikh radicals, who had thrown pamphlets on his car bonnet.
On September 27, Malhotra again approached the police, claiming he had received a message on WhatsApp, threatening that he and Sahni would be killed within 10 days. “I marked an inquiry to ADCP Brar who discovered that the whole story was concocted,” Dhoke said.
The police traced the cellphone used for issuing the “threats” to a shop owned by Rizwan in Vardhaman Nagar. It was sold in Gold’s name.
“It was Goldy and his friend Prem who, riding a motorcycle (PB 10 FW 9140) and wearing turbans, had thrown pamphlets on Malhotra's car and then sent threat mails, as instructed by the latter. Goldy, who is an illiterate, asked his friend Gurpreet to type the messages on the cellphone purchased from Rizwan's shop,” Amandeep Singh Brar, the SHO of Salem Tabri, said. As a reward, Sahni appointed Goldy as president of Ludhiana Eas, he added.
A case under Sections 420, 177, 182, 153A, 193 and 12-B of the IPC has been registered.
The accused Sena leader had recently told the CP that he had received threats from gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who is lodged in the Amritsar jail. Sahni, who was earlier with Sri Hindu Takht led by Panchanand Giri of Patiala, parted ways to join the Shiv Sena (Hind)
