Gurugram: Wife of gangster held in ₹7cr extortion case
Police said that the accused was receiving continuous instructions from her husband to extort money from local businesses
Notorious gangster Kaushal Chaudhary’s wife Manisha was arrested by Haryana Police’s Special Task Force (STF) in Sector 9’s Devilal Colony on Monday for allegedly extorting ₹7 crore from two hoteliers in separate cases in Neemrana, Rajasthan, and Bilaspur, Gurugram, police said on Monday.
According to police, 35-year-old Manisha had been actively running and attempting to revive her husband’s gang across Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan while Kaushal remains incarcerated in Bhondsi District Jail. Jaipur police collaborated with the STF to trace her movements, while a reward of ₹20,000 was offered for information leading to her capture. Investigators revealed that she was receiving continuous instructions from Kaushal to extort money from local businesses. Kaushal has been in jail since August 2019 after he was arrested from IGI airport, Delhi following his deportation from Sharjah, UAE. More than 200 cases are cases are registered against him in Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and other states, police said.
The arrest stemmed from an extortion call made to a Gurugram hotel on September 10, where the caller claimed affiliation with the Kaushal and Amit Dagar gang and demanded ₹2 crore monthly, police said. Following a complaint filed at Bilaspur police station on September 15, an FIR was registered. “Manisha was the one in whose direction the extortion threat call was made at the hotel on September 10,” said Varun Kumar Dahiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime).
In another incident, police said that Manisha allegedly orchestrated an attack at the Highway King hotel on the Delhi-Jaipur highway in Neemrana, Rajasthan. On September 8, two gang members reportedly opened fire and left a demand slip for ₹5 crore with the hotel manager. Four suspected gang members were later arrested following a gunfight in Manesar on September 19, during which police seized arms and ammunition. Investigators said Manisha had supplied these men with weapons and ammunition for the attack.
“She was produced before a city court on Monday and was taken on a six-day police remand for detailed interrogation,” Dahiya said, adding that two mobile phones were recovered from her. Police are now working to dismantle the entire gang, arresting each member involved.
Manisha, who has previous charges of murder, extortion, and cheating against her in Gurugram, has been in jail multiple times and was out on bail at the time of her arrest. She had previously been apprehended by police in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, as well.