Aide of jailed gangsters held for firing in extortion bid

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Manoj C said that around 10pm of April 17, three unidentified men reached the businessman’s house on a scooter and fired at least six rounds at his residence. Nobody was hurt, but it triggered panic among residents and the family of the businessman

A 33-year-old repeat offender associated with a group led by jailed gangsters Kala Jatheri and Anil Chippi was arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police for firing at the house of a businessman in Pitampura of northwest Delhi on April 17, in a bid to extort him of ₹50 lakh, police said. The firing took place 16 days after two men of the gang intercepted him near his residence, introduced themselves as members of the Jatheri-Chippi gang and threatened him of dire consequences if he did not pay up, police said.

The shooter fired at least six rounds at the businessman’s residence. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The businessman, who deals in home appliances and has a warehouse in Bawana industrial area, raised the alarm when the duo intercepted him, following which locals apprehended the duo and handed them over to the police. Despite the arrests, the gang went ahead with its extortion attempt, police said.

“A case of extortion was registered under Indian Penal Code’s (IPC) sections 386 and 34 at Subhash Place police station and the two suspects, identified by their single names Neeraj,21, and Sunny,19, both from Bahadurgarh in Haryana, were arrested and sent to jail. They disclosed that they had demanded the amount on the directions of their gang leaders Jatheri and Chippi,” a senior special cell officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Manoj C said that around 10pm of April 17, three unidentified men reached the businessman’s house on a scooter and fired at least six rounds at his residence. Nobody was hurt, but it triggered panic among residents and the family of the businessman. A second case was registered under sections 336 and 34 of the IPC and sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.

“Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the case, multiple teams started working on it. The special cell’s southwestern range team on April 19 received information that one of the suspects would be visiting Mukhmelpur village in outer Delhi to meet his associates. A raid was conducted and the suspect, identified as Aakash Dhruv, was arrested when he arrived on a scooter, which was found to be stolen from Rani Bagh area on March 31. Two pistols with six cartridges were also recovered from him,” Manoj said.

Dhruv is a repeat offender, who was first arrested in 2015 in a murder case. He was jailed and while he was working in the jail canteen, came in contact with gangster Sandeep, alias Kala Jatheri, who inducted him and introduced him to Chippi, police said.

Upon his release in 2020, Dhruv started working for the gang, mainly committing extortions. He was arrested in 2021 and served another year in jail, police said.

“Dhruv has disclosed that on the directions of the gangsters, he stole the scooter and committed the firing at the businessman’s house along with his two associates, identified as Rohit and Pawan. The arms and ammunition were arranged by the gangsters’ associates,” Manoj said.