CHANDIGARH/BATALA, February 23: In a major breakthrough, Batala Police has busted a major extortion Case racket. This occurred amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state. This was as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. The racket was operated by USA-based Gangster Gurdev Jassal. Two operatives, including an Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Surjit Singh posted in Batala, have been arrested. Police recovered Rs 83 lakh extortion money. They also seized illegal firearms and luxury vehicles from their possession. This was stated by Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.
The other arrested operative has been identified as Ankus Maini, a resident of Kalanaur in Gurdaspur.
associates of Jassal opened fire at a petrol pump
DGP Gaurav Yadav stated that a preliminary investigation revealed a critical incident. On February 4, associates of Jassal opened fire at a petrol pump. Their intention was to intimidate a Kalanaur-based businessman. They aimed to extort money from him. After continuous threat calls, the businessman eventually paid Rs 50 lakhs on February 11. There was a demand for Rs 1 crore as extortion money, he said.
He said that Jassal’s gang used foreign numbers for threats. They coordinated payments, ensuring that the extortion funds were routed through multiple intermediaries. The probe revealed new findings. It showed ASI Surjit Singh and Ankus Maini participated in the collection of extortion funds. They were also involved in their distribution, he said.
Batala Police: ASI Surjit Singh is the accused. He has been dismissed from the service
The DGP informed that ASI Surjit Singh is the accused. He has been dismissed from the service under article 311(2) of the Indian Constitution. Further investigations are on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case, he added.
Sharing operation details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Batala Suhail Qasim Mir said that some days back, Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Sadar Batala received an intelligence input regarding a local police officer’s involvement in handling extortion money.
Police teams have also recovered Rs 5.91 lakh and one .32 bore pistol along with two cartridges
Following inputs, an operation was launched leading to the arrest of the ASI and upon his confession regarding concealing a large cache of money at his house, a team reached his residence at Harnam Nagar, Batala, where a staggering Rs 76.32 lakh in cash was recovered from a concealed compartment, he said, while adding that following his arrest, ASI Surjit Singh claimed that the money was sent by his son, who is settled in USA.
The SSP said that during technical investigation the person who had handed over the money to the ASI was also tracked and eventually accused Ankus was arrested, who disclosed that the amount he had handed over to ASI is basically extortion money extorted by USA based Gurdev Jassal. Police teams have also recovered Rs 5.91 lakh and one .32 bore pistol along with two cartridges from the possession of Ankus, besides, impounding his black Mahindra Scorpio car (PB-11-CU-1000).
He said that further probe has also revealed that ASI’s two sons are in close contact with Gurdev Jassal, facilitating the transfer of extorted funds to the gangster in exchange for a cut of the profits, using which the accused ASI has recently bought two plots and a brand-new Toyota Fortuner Legender, which has been impounded by the police teams.
A case FIR no. 14 dated 14/2/2025 was registered under section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station Sadar Batala, and later sections 308(2), 111 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 25 of the Arms Act were added.
