Gangsters, including Gurugram heist accused, handed life term under MCOCA by court

They were found guilty under Section 3 of MCOCA for running an organised crime syndicate but were acquitted under Section 4 for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of syndicate members.

A Delhi court has sentenced two notorious gangsters, including Gurugram multi-crore heist alleged mastermind Vikas Gulia, to rigorous life imprisonment under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), noting they created “fear psychosis” in the public, which led witnesses to turn hostile.

The judge acknowledged that victims of extortion could not gather the courage to testify, opting for personal settlements instead.

Additional sessions judge Vandana Jain of the Dwarka courts delivered the sentencing order on December 13, following the conviction of Gulia, also known as Vikas Lagarpuria, and his associate Dheerpal Kana on December 11.

They were found guilty under Section 3 of MCOCA for running an organised crime syndicate but were acquitted under Section 4 of the Act for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of members of the syndicate.

The judge, in her order, acknowledged that victims of extortion could not gather the courage to testify, opting for personal settlements instead.

“The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public that they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to their illegal demands,” she observed.

The ruling stated that the sheer number of FIRs against the duo – including cases of murder and the brazen use of arms across Delhi and Haryana – demonstrated that ordinary penal laws were inadequate to curb their menace. This necessitated the invocation of MCOCA to restore public order.

The court noted that prosecution proved that Gulia continued to direct his crime syndicate from within jail, with Kana executing instructions to accumulate illicit gains. The court concluded the syndicate operated with the clear objective of obtaining pecuniary benefits and establishing criminal supremacy.

Gulia, a resident of Jhajjar, Haryana, is implicated in at least 18 criminal cases. He was originally booked under MCOCA in 2015 and a charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police’s Dwarka unit in 2016. He is currently in judicial custody at Mandoli jail. His associate, Dheerpal Kana, who is also a member of his syndicate, is lodged in Rohini jail.

During sentencing arguments, the defence counsel advocate Anirudh Yadav argued for a reformative approach. Judge Jain rejected this, stating, “The reformative theory can only be applied to persons who are willing to reform… Undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentences would do more harm to the public system and would undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.”

The court agreed with additional public prosecutor Vijender Kharb’s call for stringent punishment but found the crimes did not fall into the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death penalty.

Gulia is suspected of planning the 2021 theft of approximately ₹40 crore from a residential society’s maintenance office in Gurugram’s Sector 84 – a case that also led to the arrests of two doctors, a Delhi Police official, and a Haryana IPS officer.

After fleeing to Dubai on a fake passport, Gulia was deported following an Interpol operation in December 2022. He was arrested upon arrival at Delhi Airport under a Red Corner Notice issued by Delhi Police and a lookout circular from Haryana Police.

“The conviction and the sentence handed out to these gangsters has been achieved under able supervision at the highest levels and reinforced the Delhi Police’s resolve in taking strict action against organised crime in the city,” said Ankit Singh, DCP (Dwarka), under whose supervision the probe took place.