New Delhi:

Lawrence Bishnoi, currently one of the biggest criminals involved in multiple cases including the firing near actor Salman Khan’s house, has been recorded trying to extort money from a Delhi-based man wanted in several criminal cases. The man in question is Kunal Chhabra, who is currently in Dubai. He has recorded multiple conversations with Lawrence Bishnoi including one of a video call — where he is purportedly heard demanding money and making threats — copies of which are now in possession of NDTV.  NDTV cannot vouch for the authenticity of the videos. 

The calls date back to May 2023 after which, on June 14, Kunal Chhabra had complained to the police. Lawrence Bishnoi, who has been in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, has been questioned by the police but it is not clear what action has been taken. 

In one of the audio clips, Lawrence Bishnoi is heard saying that because of Kunal Chhabra, 10 of his men have been arrested. “Now you have incurred our enmity… We have suffered a lot because of you. Now our own people will take care of you”.

He also accused Kunal Chhabra of paying money to policemen, because of which the arrests were made.  Chhabra denied he had done anything. “I did not give money to any policemen. I got a call, someone from your STF called from Punjab. he asked me that I got a call and why have I not complained. I said that I do not want to complain. I will also give you the number,” he is heard saying.  

In the video call, Bishnoi is heard demanding Rs 5 crore, which Chhabra promised to pay once he returned to India. 

Police sources said Kunal Chhabra had defaulted on the payment on the advice of his friend Nadir Shah, a gym owner from Delhi. On September 12 this year, Nadir Shah was shot dead in south Delhi.

A video from a nearby CCTV camera in Greater Kailash-1 showed him standing and talking to one of his associates when a man in a checked shirt walked up to them and started firing. He was hit six to eight times and was declared dead at a hospital. Sources said Lawrence Bishnoi wanted to send a message to Chhabra by killing Nadir Shah.

Police sources say Kunal Chhabra is an illegal call center mafia who is now wanted by the US federal agency FBI for allegedly cheating American citizens through his call centers.

Delhi Police’s IFS unit had raided many illegal call centers of Chhabra and arrested 12 people. A non-bailable warrant has been issued against him in connection with two cases. When he had registered the extortion complaint against Lawrence Bishnoi, he was already on bail in two cases. 

The FBI requests came up later after which the Special Cell of the Delhi Police has also issued a lookout circular against him. 

During their investigation, the Special Cell found out that Kunal Chhabra has made property worth several hundred crores by cheating American citizens through illegal call centers, sources said. 

These details have been passed on to the Enforcement Directorate and action against him under the anti-money laundering laws has been sought.

New Delhi:

The gym owner who was shot dead in South Delhi’s upscale Greater Kailash area on Thursday night had come in the crosshairs of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang because he had asked his business partner not to pay Rs 5 crore that the outfit had tried to extort from him, sources have told NDTV. 

Nadir Shah, who is of Afghan origin, was allegedly also friends with two South Delhi gangsters. This friendship was used by the Bishnoi gang to tap the enemies of the gangsters, who, in turn, roped in people who had been threatened by Shah earlier, building a complex web before finally carrying out the murder. 

Shah was shot dead on a busy road in Greater Kailash-1. A video of the shooting showed him standing and talking to one of his associates near some parked cars when a man in a checked shirt walked up to them and began firing. Shah’s associate managed to duck but the gym owner was shot six to eight times and was declared dead at a hospital.

While the shooter is on the run, four people have been arrested so far and their interrogation and the police’s investigation have revealed that Shah was a business partner of a man called Kunal Chhabra, who runs several illegal call centres in Delhi. Some time ago, members of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang had tried to extort Rs 5 crore from Chhabra, but Shah had told him not to pay, saying he would protect him because he had friends in high places. 

Sources said this made Shah a target for the Bishnoi gang and he also spoke to Lawrence Bishnoi to negotiate a settlement, but was turned down. Around this time, Bishnoi was taken into police custody and allegedly tortured and he held Shah responsible for that. He allegedly declared in front of police officials that he would now take not five but Rs 10 crore from Shah and Chhabra. 

Spinning The Web

Shah was friends with South Delhi gangsters Ravi Gangwal and Rohit Chaudhary, who were enemies of Hashim Baba, a North East Delhi gangster. Sources said Rohit Godara, a key member of the Bishnoi gang – who has claimed responsibility for Shah’s murder – used this enmity to rope in Hashim Baba in his plan to kill Shah. 

Hashim Baba brought in Randeep, a gangster from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who is currently in the US. Randeep allegedly brought in a few men from Azamgarh to kill Shah. 

Widening the conspiracy, Hashim Baba, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, also roped in his jailmate Sameer Baba, a gangster who was once threatened by Shah. 

The shooting was finally carried out by Hashim Baba and Randeep’s shooters and of the four men who have been arrested by the police so far, three – Nilesh Tiwari, Vishal Verma and Akash Yadav – are from Azamgarh, while Naveen Baliyan is from Sonipat in Haryana. 

Shah’s business partner, Chhabra, is in Dubai and has a non-bailable warrant against him in Delhi. Shah also owned a business in Dubai and had several criminal cases against him.