New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested two absconding members of an interstate gang of Mewat-based extortionists, an official said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Arshad Khan, 30, and Mushtaq Khan, 39, had been absconding for the past nine months in a case of extortion in Delhi and were also carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 each on their arrest.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Jasmeet Singh said there was credible information about the illegal activities by the members of this Mewat-based gang in south Delhi following which a team was deputed to mount surveillance on their movements. “We received specific information on July 21 about the coming of Arshad Khan, one of the members of the syndicate in Flower Market Chattarpur between 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. to meet one of his contacts,” DCP Singh said. Subsequently, a trap was laid and the accused Arshad Khan was apprehended on the same day.
During interrogation, Arshad Khan disclosed that Mushtaq Khan, his associate, was hiding in an abandoned house in their village. “A team was then immediately sent to his village in Dausa district (Rajasthan) and Mushtaq Khan was arrested from a house on the intervening night of July 22-23,” the DCP said.
Both the accused disclosed that they were members of an interstate syndicate consisting of Mewat-based associates which is led by Saddam Hussain. “They further disclosed that they along with 4-5 of his other associates had demanded an extortion from one advocate in Delhi after luring and trapping him in their dragnet by subsequently making his indecent online video to blackmail and threaten him,” the senior official said.
The modus operandi of the gang members was to lure the gullible persons in Delhi NCR by sending friend requests to them through Facebook and other social media platforms and start chatting with them by posing as female. Thereafter, members of the gang used to make incriminating online vulgar videos of these gullible persons by luring them to indulge in indecent acts online by prompting them.
“They further used to demand extortion from their victims by threatening them to make these videos viral or send the same to their family members, relatives and friends if they failed to pay the extortion amount,” he said.
(IANS)
