Extortion racket targeting transporters animal traders in Delhi busted 3 arrested

New Delhi, Jun 14 (PTI) Delhi Police has busted an extortion racket in which the members of a gang used the name of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to threaten animal traders and transporters at gunpoint into paying protection money, an official on Saturday said.
     The official said that three members of the gang, identified as Ravinder Sharma (47), Pawan Kumar (56) and Mustaq Ali (50), have been arrested, adding that extorted money by intimidating traders and threatening to implicate them in legal cases related to animal cruelty.
     All three are part of the Pawan gang and they operated a well-structured extortion network targeting traders in and around the Ghazipur Mandi area, police said.
     "They posed as vigilantes or informers affiliated with animal welfare enforcement, using the SPCA's name to extract money from traders transporting livestock," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Crime, Harsh Indora, in a statement.
     The DCP said the police received inputs about Ravinder's movement in the Najafgarh-Dwarka area and a trap was laid on Kakrola Nala Road where he was intercepted in a car.
     A country-made pistol and one live cartridge were recovered from his possession, he added.
     Based on Ravinder's interrogation, the police arrested Pawan Kumar and recovered another loaded pistol.
     Mustaq Ali was later held with yet another pistol. He allegedly procured firearms from Mewat and supplied them to the gang on Pawan's instructions, police said.
     The DCP said the "gang systematically extorted money from animal traders by invoking fear of action from the SPCA".
     "The traders were told that their vehicles and livestock would be reported to authorities for cruelty or regulatory violations unless they paid bribes," he added.
     In several instances, payments were made online or transferred directly to the accused's bank accounts. If the traders failed to pay, the accused resorted to threats, vandalism or forcibly transferring funds from their mobile banking apps.
     The DCP said that the accused "would block traders' vehicles at night and confront them at gunpoint".
     "They particularly targeted vehicles entering or leaving the Ghazipur animal market. Pawan Kumar, the alleged kingpin, oversaw the gang's operations and recruited at least eight members for identifying and targeting victims," he added.
     Ravinder Sharma ran a welding shop in Najafgarh and joined the gang in 2018. He used his car to intercept and threaten traders, police said.
     Pawan Kumar, a repeat offender with past cases, formed the extortion syndicate after observing illegal fee collection near Ghazipur market. He brought in Mustaq and others to expand the racket.
     Mustaq, who acted as the gang's arms procurer, sourced at least 10 pistols from Mewat and distributed them among gang members over the last year, police said.
     The victims are being questioned and further investigation is underway to locate other members of the gang and determine the full scale of the extortion network, they said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)