Rajkot: The main accused who attempted to extort and issued death threats to Junagadh MLA Sanjay Koradia has been arrested. The prime accused, Samir Ringbloch (32), was detained at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Tuesday after arriving from Congo, where he had been residing since 2018.

Originally from Talala in Gir Somnath district, Ringbloch had been working as a restaurant manager in Congo.

According to the FIR, MLA Koradia received a WhatsApp call from an international number on October 26, during which the caller used abusive language and demanded ₹30 lakh. The next day, another message reiterated the demand, prompting Koradia to block the contact. On October 28, he received another call from a different international number, again threatening to kill his family if the money was not paid, warning that “Gujarat Police or your politicians won’t be able to find or harm me.”

The caller also shared two mobile numbers and instructed Koradia to send the money to Ahmedabad via courier.

Last week, police arrested Ringbloch’s two alleged accomplices, Ronak Thakor from Ahmedabad and Imran alias John from Veraval, and subsequently traced Ringbloch to Congo. Following this, a lookout circular (LOC) was issued against him. Acting on this alert, authorities intercepted him upon arrival at Mumbai airport on November 4. A Junagadh LCB team immediately reached Mumbai and took him into custody. He has since been brought to Junagadh and handed over to the B Division Police for further questioning.

Preliminary findings suggest that Ringbloch targeted Koradia due to his political prominence in Junagadh. Records also reveal that Ringbloch had earlier been booked in 2015 at Talala Police Station for assault and issuing threats. DeshGujarat