Haridwar police have arrested Priyanshu Pant, the main accused in an extortion case where he allegedly posed as Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah, to demand ₹5 lakh from BJP MLA Adesh Chauhan. One of his accomplices, Uvesh Ahmed, has also been arrested, while the third accused, Gaurav Nath, is still absconding.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening when Pant called Chauhan, claiming to collect funds for the party. When the MLA grew suspicious, the accused allegedly threatened to defame him on social media.
Following a complaint, a case was registered at Bahadarabad police station under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators tracked the accused’s phone location and arrested Pant in Delhi on Monday after multiple raids in Delhi and Ghaziabad.
Police revealed that this was not the first time the accused had attempted such fraud. They had previously tried to extort money from two other MLAs—Nainital’s Sarita Arya and Rudrapur’s Shiv Arora—by promising them ministerial positions.
According to Haridwar SSP Pramod Singh Dobal, the trio planned to fund their lavish lifestyle through political extortion.
