Malerkotla police on Monday said they have successfully busted an extortion racket with the arrest of two local residents and a juvenile.The police have cracked a case involving extortion and death threats routed through foreign-based WhatsApp numbers, with Pakistan-based operators at its core.The accused have been identified as Numan Ansari, a resident of Ludhiana Bypass, near Gulzar Hospital, Malerkotla, and Mohd Gulfam, a resident of Pandiyan Mohalla, Malerkotla. The juvenile has been apprehended for surveilling the complainant’s house and sharing its video and location with the handlers across the border.Senior Superintendent of Police Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh told The Tribune that this was the first such extortion case in Malerkotla in which the handlers were based in Pakistan.Praising the Malerkotla cybercrime cell, the SSP said the complainant, Lavneet Singh, a resident of Dhuri Road, Malerkotla, had received a series of WhatsApp calls from foreign-based numbers.The callers sent him a video of his residence along with its location, demanded money and threatened to kill him if he failed to meet their demand. The SSP said the district police acted swiftly on the complaint and busted the entire conspiracy through sustained technical and field investigations.Acting on the complaint, the police team scrutinised CCTV footage, which led to the identification of the persons who had filmed the complainant’s house. During interrogation, their mobile phones were subjected to technical analysis, which established their links with the Pakistan-based handlers.Based on the complainant’s statement, FIR No. 28, dated October 10, 2026, was registered under Sections 308(4) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Malerkotla.“The cybercrime team’s investigation revealed that Numan Ansari first came into contact with the Pakistan-based operators through Instagram and later through WhatsApp. Along with Mohd Gulfam, he allegedly conspired with the Pakistan-based handlers to have the complainant eliminated. Mohd Gulfam, who maintained contact with the handlers through Numan Ansari, filmed the complainant’s house and shared its location with them. Police sources said he had an old rivalry with the complainant,” the SSP added.A juvenile accompanied the two accused and was riding the motorcycle when the video of the house was recorded. The police found that the juvenile was aware of the conspiracy.The SSP added that the two accused would be produced before the competent court, where the police would seek their remand to uncover the module’s forward and backward linkages.The juvenile would be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and dealt with in accordance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.