Nitin Gadkari receives another death threat over phone call: Report
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, reportedly received a death threat over a phone call at his residence in New Delhi on Monday evening. Citing sources, the news agency ANI reported that Gadkari's office has already informed the Delhi Police regarding the same, and the matter is currently under investigation.
Police probe into issue underway
Call answered by staffer, caller spoke in Hindi: Police
The latest death threat call on the landline number of Gadkari's New Delhi residence was received by a staffer, reported PTI. A police officer said, "The caller spoke in Hindi and said 'mujhe mantri ji se baat karni hai, unhe threaten karna hai' (I want to talk to the minister and threaten him), and disconnected the call."
Police trying to trace number to nab caller
"All call records details are being analyzed. The accused had called on the landline number, so we are trying to trace the number to get to him. An inquiry is underway," the police officer further stated.
Gadkari received similar threat calls earlier
To note, the union minister received similar threat calls in the past as well. In March, Gadkari's Nagpur office in Maharashtra received threatening phone calls from an unknown person who demanded a Rs. 10 crore ransom. Reports also revealed that the threat calls were made on the BJP leader's landline number of his Public Relations Office (PRO) in the Khamla area of Nagpur.
Unknown caller made extortion demands in January
Earlier in January, too, Gadkari received death threat calls at his Nagpur residence and office from an individual claiming to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang and demanding Rs. 100 crore. On January 14, Gadkari's Khamla PRO received three calls on the landline number, and as a result, security was beefed up at his Nagpur home and office.
Details on caller claiming to be Dawood gang member
Later identified as Jayesh Pujari, the caller allegedly threatened Gadkari with a bomb blast if his demand was not met. A thorough probe also revealed that Pujari was an inmate at the Hindalga Central Jail in Karnataka's Belagavi and was sentenced to death in a murder case. As per reports, the accused made the threat calls in January and March from the prison itself.
