Hubballi, 4 Sept

Notorious criminal Bachcha Khan and seven others have been arrested in an extortion attempt case, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said on Wednesday.

Khan, a convict in a murder case, was out on 45 days’ parole when he was taken into custody, he said.

According to him, a 70-year-old man in Mantur village in Hubballi-Dharwad region received several calls from two phone numbers between August 18 and 20.

“There was some dispute related to his land. Financial transaction had not been completed and hence he was going to the person concerned regularly to pursue his payment. In this duration, he received several calls from two different phone numbers where he was threatened with dire consequences. The unknown caller also told the victim about the routine of his family members,” Kumar said.

“The caller had made a demand of Rs one crore. Based on the complaint, we registered a case and got the matter investigated by the CCB. On the basis of the evidence gathered during the investigation, we arrested seven people in the Hubballi-Dharwad region,” he added.

Further, Khan was arrested in Bengaluru. In all, eight people have been arrested, and they are being interrogated, Kumar said.-PTI