Mewat gangs resort to IT for suave and organised crime

While the Special Cell of Delhi Police claims to have removed Mewat-based gangs from the national Capital, many of them have now reportedly equipped themselves with technology and stepped into the world of organised crime.

Members of the Mewat-based gang, who had allegedly targeted a Ahmedabad-based businessman through the internet and later got trapped in the police dragnet, were found to be experts in IT, said a Crime Branch source.

The same gang was also wanted by Kerala police and they had come to Delhi twice to investigate cases but failed reportedly, the source confirmed. The source further said this is very unlikely for the traditional Mewat-based gangs, infamous for committing cattle thefts, motor vehicle thefts, highway robberies and burglaries overnight and then fleeing the spot. The gang, that was busted recently by the Crime Branch, identified itself as the Gang of Ten — had a pattern of chosing targets and most of them were from western and southern Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Panaji, Pune, Hyderabad and cities in Kerala. This was based on a research conducted on their own, said the source. According to the research, that they later told the police during interrogation, people from the concerned states and cities were reluctant about reporting incidents to the police in north Indian states that included Delhi and Haryana. “This point, however, can only be authenticated once the police communicates with their targets who were victimised in the past, who allegedly got rid of them by paying ransoms and asked them why they did not report the incidents,” said the source. 

The gang, however, resorted to a new modus operandi. They profiled themselves as large-scale dealers in metal-scraps and lured their targets with lucrative deals. Once they landed in Delhi, they were all allegedly abducted at gun-point and taken to Mewat, followed by the ransom calls.

In 2012, the Special Cell constructed a team focussed on Mewat-based gangs and within three years, as many as 35 alleged criminals were arrested by the unit. Most of them belonged to one Salli gang, considered to be the most notorious. Among other notorious gangs were the Jafru gang, Ammu gang and Shakir and Wahid gang, informed a senior official at Special Cell of Delhi Police.