Nitin Gadkari receives threat calls demanding Rs 10 crore ransom The Public Relation office of Union minister Nitin Gadkari yet again received threat calls. The caller demanded a ransom of Rs 10 crore. Police are investigating the matter. Maharashtra police have registered a case against an inmate of the Hindalga jail, on charges of making threat calls to the office of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The caller claimed he was a member of gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s team and threatened to assassinate the minister. He also identified himself and gave a mobile number to call back, saying it was his number. The three calls were made on Saturday.

Nagpur police suspect the accused is Shreyas alias Tejesh Poojari from Mangaluru who is lodged in Hindalga on charges of extortion. A team of Nagpur police arrived in Belagavi at night, and spoke to the jail authorities and suspected inmate. Belagavi City police assisted them in the inquiry. The accused denied having made the calls.

A diary was recovered from him, that contained phone numbers of some ministers and others. However, no mobile phones or SIM cards were found in his possession.

“The calls were made to landline telephones. But the trackers enabled the police to zero in on Belagavi,’‘ said a police officer.

The accused also faces charges of having made threat calls to Additional Director General of Police Alok Kumar and other officers in the past. A few months ago, the accused had told jail officers that he had married again, after conversion to Islam. “However, this claim could not be verified,’‘ officers say.

“We are ordering an inquiry and detailed search and seizure,’‘ Krishna Kumar, the superintendent of Hindalga jail said. “All phones or SIM cards that were allegedly smuggled into the jail will be confiscated. Measures will be taken to stop such movement,’‘ he said.