Two more held for blackmailing traffic cops with video clips; 10 arrested so far

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has arrested two more alleged extortionists linked to rackets that targeted traffic police personnel and other government officials by covertly recording and manipulating videos to blackmail them, an official said on Sunday.

With the arrest of two, the total number of accused apprehended in the two cases has risen to 10, including the alleged gang leaders Jeeshan Ali and Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, he said.

“The accused were arrested by the Crime Branch in two separate operations conducted as part of an ongoing probe into an organised traffic fraud and extortion networks,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said in a statement.

The officer said that in the first operation, police arrested Amir Chaudhary alias Sikander, an alleged member of an organised crime syndicate led by Jeeshan Ali, who has already been arrested.

The syndicate was involved in extorting money from traffic police personnel and other government officials by secretly recording videos during official duties and later using those clips for blackmail.

“In the second operation, Sanjay Gupta, a key associate of gang leader Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, was arrested,” the officer said.

Rajkumar Meena and Riyazuddin trained Gupta to record and manipulate videos of traffic police personnel while they were performing official duties, and later used them to extort money by threatening action against the victims, he said.

Police cracked two gangs extorting traffic officials using fake challan exemptions and manipulated videos. Mastermind Jeeshan Ali and six others were arrested last year; Rajkumar Meena, Mukesh, Sanjay Gupta, and Amir Chaudhary were later held, with Rs 60,000 recovered. The gangs repeatedly threatened officials

to extract money.