Delhi court remands five in connection with extortion calls to Union Min

New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Five persons, who were arrested for allegedly making extortion calls to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, were on Monday sent to police custody till January 9 by Delhi's Patiala House Court.

The accused, who were allegedly demanding Rs 2.5 crore and threatening to release a video related to the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, were arrested on December 24.

The accused, whose three-day custody expired on Monday, were sent to police custody till January 9 by Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Udbhav Kumar Jain.

The court also allowed the police to take voice samples of two of the accused -- Amit Kumar Manjhi and Nishant Singh Rana -- after they informed the court that most of the calls were made by Amit.

According to the police, four accused persons were arrested from Noida and one was arrested from Delhi for making the extortion calls.

The complaint lodged by the personal assistant of the Union minister stated that Mishra received phone calls from some unidentified people demanding money.

Notably, Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra is a prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and was arrested in connection with the violence that was triggered after he allegedly ran his car over protesting farmers in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV in Lakhimpur Kheri when a group agitating against the Centre's three farm laws was staging a demonstration against the visit of UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on October 3. Two BJP workers, a driver, and a journalist were also killed in the ensuing violence.