NEW DELHI: Police have busted a major carjacking gang allegedly led by a gangster linked to over 100 car thefts across Delhi-NCR from 2015 to 2018, officials said on Friday.
Five active members of the gang, including the kingpin Pandey, have been arrested and chargesheeted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). “Two other associates, Dare Mada Yangda and Yusuf Ali, have been declared proclaimed offenders, and a request for their trial in absentia has been made,” the police officer said.
Police said, Pandey had been running an organised crime syndicate for more than a decade, targeting luxury vehicles and disposing them of in Arunachal Pradesh and other northeastern states. The gang was linked to several other crimes, including murder, kidnapping for ransom, and robbery.
During the investigation, the team identified a property in Lucknow purchased in the name of Pandey’s father. Further probes revealed that the Rs 80 lakh payment and construction expenses were actually borne by Pandey using proceeds from his criminal activities.
“Pandey has a record of over 45 criminal cases, ranging from robbery and murder to offences under the Arms and NDPS Acts. Among those arrested are Kapil Chitania, Vijay Farmana, Sumit Vakil, and Chander Shekhar Gupta,” the officer added.