In New Delhi, police have arrested three businessmen for attempting to extort money from a jeweller by posing as notorious gangster Himanshu Bhau. The accused—Sumit, 42, Prince, 35, and Nitish, 31—are all residents of West Delhi, with Sumit himself working in the jewellery business and familiar with the victim’s financial standing.
The latest incident occurred on August 10 when the jeweller received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number around noon. The caller, claiming to be Himanshu Bhau, demanded ₹50 lakh and threatened that failure to pay by the next morning would result in the jeweller being shot. Later that day, the same number called the jeweller’s shop landline, repeating the threats directly to the staff and warning of dire consequences if the payment was not made.
The jeweller lodged a complaint at Karol Bagh police station on August 23. Investigations revealed that the same group was behind a similar extortion case on DBG Road, where they had demanded ₹2 crore from another businessman and threatened his children. In that case, the trio used a cryptocurrency QR code for payment, hinting at international coordination, with calls traced back to Thailand. They were arrested upon their return to India.
Police noted that Nitish, despite holding a master’s degree in software management from the London School of Economics, was part of the plot due to severe debt pressures. The men admitted that their financial troubles pushed them toward extortion as a quick way to repay loans.
Investigators said the gang used the name of Himanshu Bhau deliberately, relying on his reputation to strike fear in their victims. Their schemes illustrate how criminals are blending traditional intimidation tactics with modern tools like cryptocurrency and international call routing to carry out their activities.
The incident underscores a growing trend of extortion targeting India’s lucrative jewellery sector, particularly in commercial hubs like Karol Bagh. Authorities highlighted the rising use of cryptocurrency in such crimes, complicating enforcement and cross-border tracking. Police have assured the business community that they are intensifying efforts to curb these activities and protect traders from such threats.
