A representative image of police in Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Police in an overnight crackdown against organised criminal syndicates has arrested 16 gangsters, notorious criminals and impounded bulletproof vehicles during a coordinated operation, an official said on Friday.
The special drive, simultaneously launched in the outernorth, Rohini and northwest districts, involved 848 police personnel. Police also seized arms from the accused.
Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) (Northern Range) Vijay Singh said extensive night-wide action aimed to dismantle organised gangs involved in extortion, drug trafficking, possession of illegal weapons, robbery and repeated street crimes.
The officer further said that 152 locations and hideouts of gangsters were raided across Delhi and parts of Haryana.
It led to the arrest of 16 gang members and the detention of eight others linked to several major crime syndicates, including Gogi gang, Tillu Tajpuriya group, Kala Jatheri gang, Rajesh Bawana's network, Sonu Dariyapur's syndicate and the Neetu Dabodhiya gang.
During the crackdown, police recovered 18 pistols and country-made firearms, 43 live cartridges, a magazine, five knives and Rs 10.09 in cash. Police also seized 122 mobile phones, two wireless sets, three two-wheelers and impounded two cars.
"Two bulletproof vehicles – a Mahindra Thar and a Scorpio-N – were recovered from associates of different gangs," said the JCP.
Outernorth district deployed the highest manpower, with 400 personnel raiding 50 premises.
"The district arrested 11 gang members - six from the Gogi gang and five from the Tillu Tajpuriya gang. One person was also arrested under the Arms Act," Singh added.
Two gang-linked cars were seized, and a bulletproof Scorpio-N associated with the Gogi gang was also taken into custody, he said.
A search is also underway for a suspected Gogi gang operative, Sumit alias Fimmi, who managed to escape during the raid, the officer further said.
When police teams tried to arrest him at Rohini's Sector-11 based on input. The accused managed to escape after fleeing in his bulletproof Scorpio-N and later abandoning it in Sector-16, Rohini. He evaded arrest by escaping on foot despite a chase by police personnel travelling in two private vehicles.
The Rohini district formed 12 teams comprising 210 personnel and conducted raids at 12 hideouts. Six criminals, two from the Gogi gang, one from the Tillu Tajpuriya faction and one each linked to the Rajesh Bawania, Sonu Dariyapur and Neetu Dabodhiya networks, were arrested.
"Four persons, including two Gogi gang members and one belonging to the Kala Jatheri gang, were arrested under the Arms Act. We also seized a bulletproof Mahindra Thar from Joginder, an associate of the Neetu Dabodhiya gang," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Rajeev Ranjan said.
In separate actions, police arrested two snatchers wanted in robbery cases and a drug peddler booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he added.
Northwest district deployed 238 personnel and conducted the highest number of raids in 90 locations. Police said four men were arrested under the Arms Act which led to the recovery of five pistols, three countrymade pistols and 30 cartridges, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said.
Ashok Vihar police in another operation arrested three criminals, Kishan, Mohit and Rohit and recovered 103 mobile phones, a countrymade pistol, cartridges and a stolen motorcycle.
According to the officer, the trio ran a structured cross-border mobile theft network. Kishan, a bad character of Mayur Vihar, is involved in 21 previous cases and is a habitual mobile snatcher.
Mohit, also a bad character of Ashok Vihar, has 15 previous involvements. He was also a snatcher and a receiver of stolen phones, he said.
He added that Rohit, involved in three prior cases, acted as a key receiver responsible for storing, sorting and passing stolen phones to a handler who transported them to Nepal.