NEW DELHI: An extortion racket has been busted in which members of a gang used the name of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to threaten animal traders and transporters at gunpoint into paying protection money, police said on Saturday.
Three gang members—Ravinder Sharma, Pawan Kumar, and Mustaq Ali—have been arrested. According to officials, the accused intimidated traders by threatening to implicate them in legal cases related to animal cruelty. All three belong to the Pawan gang, which operated a well-structured extortion network targeting traders in and around the Ghazipur Mandi area, police said.
“The police received inputs about Ravinder’s movement in the Najafgarh-Dwarka area. A trap was laid on Kakrola Nala Road where he was intercepted in a car. He disclosed that gang leader Pawan facilitated firearms for members to extort money from transporters and animal traders,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora.
Following Ravinder’s interrogation, Pawan—who had recruited over eight people into the syndicate—was also arrested. The gang was tasked with identifying traders and intercepting them along various routes. They threatened victims under the pretext of SPCA involvement.
“On Pawan’s instance, Mustaq, who procured arms from Mewat, was also nabbed,” the DCP added. “The accused misused legal provisions by falsely citing SPCA action to manipulate and intimidate victims. This deliberate exploitation of legal concerns further aggravates the seriousness of the offence,” the DCP said,
Investigations revealed that the gang was forcibly collecting protection money from vehicle operators and animal traders operating in the Ghazipur market area. Under the guise of facilitating vehicle movement, they regularly extorted money.
Several victims were identified and questioned during the probe. Their statements clearly implicated the accused in a well-organised extortion racket that has been operating not just in Delhi but across bordering NCR regions. The gang reportedly has a criminal nexus and has been active for several years.
“The accused demanded protection money for allowing the smooth passage of vehicles transporting animals. They threatened to report the vehicles and animals to SPCA authorities near Tis Hazari if payments were not made,” the DCP said. “Money was extorted on multiple occasions—sometimes even through online transactions.”