The Delhi Police’s special cell on Tuesday arrested a close aide of jailed gangster Kala Jatheri, officials said on Tuesday, adding that the suspect allegedly ran the top criminal’s gang in the city and National Capital Region (NCR) since he was arrested.
The suspect, Deepak Gulia (31), was allegedly involved in extortion and collecting protection money from industrialists, traders, betting operators, and liquor barons in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh after Jatheri’s arrest last year, said police.
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“Gulia allegedly started carrying out illegal activities of the Jatheri gang after its kingpin was arrested in 2021. Gulia was allegedly involved in extortion and collection of protection money from industrialists, traders, betting operators, and liquor barons in Delhi-NCR, ‘as instructed by Jatheri’. He had been in touch with Jatheri and his girlfriend Anuradha, who was also arrested along with the latter last year for her alleged involvement in such activities,” said Jasmeet (goes by first name), deputy commissioner of police (special cell).
Two FIRs, including a ₹1.20 crore cheating case (in Rohtak) on the pretext of allocation of a petrol pump to a real estate agent (details not shared by police) and a cheque bounce case (in Gurugram), were also registered against Gulia in 2018. The Haryana Police had arrested him for his alleged involvement in the two cases, but he was later granted bail. However, Gulia jumped the bail, and police issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against him, said officials. DCP Singh said Gulia, who is the brother-in-law of Jatheri’s brother Pradeep, owns three liquor shops — one in Chandigarh and two in Yamuna Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}Two FIRs, including a ₹1.20 crore cheating case (in Rohtak) on the pretext of allocation of a petrol pump to a real estate agent (details not shared by police) and a cheque bounce case (in Gurugram), were also registered against Gulia in 2018. The Haryana Police had arrested him for his alleged involvement in the two cases, but he was later granted bail. However, Gulia jumped the bail, and police issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against him, said officials. DCP Singh said Gulia, who is the brother-in-law of Jatheri’s brother Pradeep, owns three liquor shops — one in Chandigarh and two in Yamuna Nagar.
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The southern range team of the Delhi Police’s special cell received a tip on July 4 that “an active member of the Kala Jatheri gang was reorganising the team in Delhi-NCR after Jatheri’s arrest in 2021”. The member was expected to come to west Delhi in July itself. Following the tip, police laid a trap and Gulia was nabbed from near Ring Road around 11.45pm on Tuesday, said DCP Singh, adding that a semi-automatic pistol with four cartridges was also recovered from his possession.
Gulia revealed during interrogation that he met Jatheri for the first time at a Haryana jail in 2018, where both of them were lodged. Gulia became a key confidant of Jatheri after the former’s sister got married to the gangster’s brother in 2019, said police.