SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, January 4: The extortion demand of Rs 50 lakh from a hotel owner in the name of a Wasseypur criminal has rattled people in business in Dhanbad.
Vickky Verma, owner of Shan–A–Punjab Hotel Kerkendra, complained to Putki police station on the previous evening regarding the extortion of Rs 50 lakh demanded by a criminal in the name of dreaded extortionist Prince Khan of Wasseypur.
Hotelier’s complaint
In his complaint to the police, Vickky Verma has said that he got extortion demand messages twice on his mobile followed by threats to his life. The first message came on the morning of Wednesday (January 3), and the second at 2.51 pm.
Verma informed the police that the extortionist also asked him if his ( Verma) movement was being followed. “His skull would be opened if he failed to pay the extortion amount,” Verma has said in his complaint.
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Traders rattled
Traders of the region have expressed concern over the trend of criminals’ extortion demands and have sought police protection. Hiralal Sharma, president of Putki Bazar Chamber of Commerce Association, has demanded immediate arrest of criminals involved in the incident so that traders could run their establishments in a fearless environment.
Putki police station officer-in-charge Jagdeo Pahan Tirki, when contacted, said he had received a complaint from the hotel owner. Police are probing the incident, he added.
Sharvmangla Hospital
Notably, in December last week, the owner of Sharvmangla Hospital, Dr Sharvmangla Prasad, had received an extortion demand of Rs 1 crore. The panicked private hospital owners of Coal City had even announced a three-day strike from December 29 to January 1. Still, they called off the stir on the assurance of Deputy Commissioner Barun Ranjan and new SSP H P Janardhanan.
