5 BJP corporators claim to have received threat calls
VARANASI: Five Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators have claimed that they received threat calls from an unidentified person three days ago, police said.
The corporators told the police the caller asked for their ‘blessings’. Asking for blessings was a way of demanding money, the corporators alleged.
The matter came to light on Sunday when one of the corporators lodged an FIR at the Dashashwamedh police station here in this connection.
Senior superintendent of police RK Bhardwaj said the matter was completely different from the recent instance in which several BJP MLAs received extortion messages on WhatsApp from someone claiming to be based in the Gulf. Investigation was underway to trace those who made the calls, police said.
A police official familiar with the matter said a corporator claimed he was in his shop in Dashashwamedh area when a man entered it and handed over a mobile, asking him to speak to bhai.A person on the line at the other end identified himself as Ejaz aka Sonu, currently lodged in Azamgarh district jail. He
THE MATTER CAME TO LIGHT ON SUNDAY WHEN ONE CORPORATOR LODGED AN FIR
asked for ‘blessings’ from corporator and disconnected, the corporator said.
Police said the youth, who entered the corporator’s shop, took the mobile back after the call and left on a bike. He reportedly went to another corporator and asked him to speak to a so-called ‘bhai’ who then repeated the same lines. Similarly, three other corporators were asked to give their ‘blessings’.
People familiar with the matter said corporators informed minister of state for justice, information, sports and youth welfare Neelkanth Tiwari, who immediately instructed senior superintendent of police RK Bhardwaj to look into the matter.
While a corporator lodged a complaint, others informed party office bearers.
Bhardwaj confirmed an FIR was registered in the matter after a complaint by a corporator in this connection.
A team was deployed to trace the one who made threat call to the corporator.