Delhi man wanted for fraud, records extortion call with Lawrence Bishnoi

New Delhi:

Lawrence Bishnoi, currently one of the biggest criminals involved in multiple cases including the shooting at actor Salman Khan’s house, has been recorded trying to extort money from a Delhi-based man wanted in multiple 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 — in which he is allegedly demanding money and making threats. Copies of these are now in the possession of NDTV. NDTV cannot vouch for the authenticity of the videos.

The calls date back to May 2023, after which Kunal Chhabra filed a complaint with the police on June 14. Lawrence Bishnoi, who was incarcerated in Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat, was questioned by the police, but it is not clear what action was 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, which led to the arrests. Chhabra denied that he had done anything. “I did not give money to policemen. I got a call, someone from your STF called from Punjab. He asked me that I got a call and why did I not complain. I said I did not want to complain. I will give you the number too,” he is heard saying.

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

Police sources said Kunal Chhabra had not made the payment on the advice of his friend Nadir Shah, a Delhi-based gym owner. 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 colleagues when a man in a checked shirt walked up to them and started shooting. 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.

According to police sources, Kunal Chhabra is an illegal mafia inside call centers who is now wanted by the US federal agency FBI for allegedly defrauding American citizens through his call centers.

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

The FBI’s requests were later addressed, following which the Delhi Police’s special cell also issued a warning circular against him.

During their investigation, the Special Cell found that Kunal Chhabra had acquired properties worth hundreds of crores by defrauding US citizens through illegal call centres, sources said.

This information has been passed on to the Enforcement Agency and measures have been taken against him under anti-money laundering legislation.