Former Staffer Nabbed for Rs 25 Lakh Extortion Threat to SRK Diamonds in Surat

Surat: Katargam police arrested a former employee of Shree Ramakrishna Exports (SRK Diamonds), associated with Rajya Sabha MP and businessman Govind Dholakiya, for allegedly making a Rs 25 lakh extortion threat.

According to the FIR, the company received a call on August 19 from a man identifying himself as Dinesh Bhargav, who allegedly threatened to harm the company’s “young generation” if the money was not paid. The caller repeated the threat the next day, warning that the target would be “locked”.

Later, the police arrested 42-year-old Vijay Desai, who had worked at SRK Diamonds for around three months last year. Police said Desai later started a textile business, suffered losses in business and the share market, and accumulated debts.

Investigators suspect he made the extortion calls to raise Rs 25 lakh and clear his liabilities, including Rs 1.5 lakh borrowed from a friend. Desai allegedly threw the mobile phone used for the calls into the Tapi river to evade detection.

Police have sought the fire brigade’s help to recover the phone and are probing whether Desai acted alone or had accomplices. DeshGujarat