New Delhi, Oct 2: The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Friday arrested an active member of the Takkar Gang, who had also been declared a proclaimed offender, in connection with an attempt to murder case, officials said.

The accused, identified as 30-year-old Gulam Khawaza alias Aaley, a resident of Delhi’s Dabri, was arrested by a team of the NDR/Crime Branch. He was wanted in connection with FIR No. 594/2023 registered under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at Sagarpur Police Station.

According to police, in November 2023, Irfan was operating a Satta business in the Raghu Nagar area. Kunal, who was involved in betting with Irfan, suffered losses and was asked to clear the outstanding amount. He subsequently contacted Vicky alias Takkar, who was in jail at the time, and sought his assistance.

Police said Vicky alias Takkar then contacted his associate Gulam Khawaza alias Aaley and directed him to go to Irfan’s betting premises. Khawaza allegedly arranged a pistol and handed it over to Aman, instructing him to fire at Irfan.

On December 3, 2023, at around 8 p.m., Gulam, along with Kunal, Hemu and Aman, reached Irfan’s betting premises. Aman allegedly fired two rounds at Irfan, one of which hit his leg, while the other missed. The accused persons then fled the spot. During the investigation, all four accused were arrested by the local police and the pistol was recovered from Aman.

Police said Khawaza was granted interim bail for 14 days on medical grounds on March 25. However, he failed to surrender after the bail period expired and absconded. He subsequently left Delhi and evaded arrest by frequently changing his hideouts and concealing his identity and movements. He was declared a proclaimed offender by the court on August 5.

The Crime Branch constituted a dedicated team comprising SI Dipender Singh and Head Constables Rajbir, Ram Niwas, Parmanand, Kuldeep, and Anchal Kumar under the supervision of Inspectors Yogesh Kumar and Vinod Yadav and overall supervision of ACP Umesh Barthwal.

Based on technical surveillance and local intelligence, the team received information that Khawaza would arrive in Delhi and proceed to Anand Vihar Railway Station before going to the residence of gang leader Takkar in Sitapuri. Acting on the information, the team laid a trap at Anand Vihar Railway Station and apprehended him.

During interrogation, Khawaza disclosed his association with the Takkar Gang and its activities in Dwarka, Dabri, Uttam Nagar and adjoining areas of Haryana. He was formally arrested under Section 35(1)(D) of the BNSS and is being produced before the concerned court.

Police said Khawaza, a Delhi University graduate, has previously been involved in 11 criminal cases, including cases under the Arms Act and an attempt to murder. According to the Crime Branch, he joined the Takkar Gang after the alleged killing of his close friend Gaurav alias Kaku in 2019 and subsequently became involved in criminal activities.

Surat, Oct 2: The Surat Cyber Crime Cell has arrested a 28-year-old man allegedly involved in providing a bank account used in two online investment fraud cases, with police finding transactions worth Rs 2.72 crore through the account and 37 complaints linked to it across different states.

The accused, identified as Ashwin Gohil, a resident of Vav in Bhavnagar district, was arrested after a technical investigation into two cases registered by the Surat Cyber Crime Police Station, the police said on Friday.

According to police, the fraudsters allegedly approached the complainants’ son through WhatsApp groups and lured him with returns of up to 390 per cent on investments in the share market and a programme named “Brp Fund 100 Day Wealth Leap Program”.

In the first case, the accused allegedly used a WhatsApp group named “Brp Fund104 – Grow Together” and directed the victim to a fake website, brp5.com.

Police said the website displayed fabricated profits, and the victim was induced to transfer Rs 5.99 lakh to various bank accounts.

In the second case, a WhatsApp group named “BRP Fund-Grow Together-008” was allegedly used to gain the victim’s trust before directing him to another fake website, app.toloyyi.com. Police said Rs 19.60 lakh was transferred to different bank accounts in this case.

Separate cases were registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2) and 3(5), as well as Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.

Police said Gohil allegedly received an ICICI Bank current account from previously arrested accused Satyajit Manjariya in return for commission.

Gohil subsequently passed the account to Pankajkumar Ramani for Rs 3,000, while Ramani allegedly handed it to another accused, Vivek Beldiya, for Rs 5,000.

Beldiya allegedly provided the account to the absconding accused for Rs 26,000 for use in cyber fraud.

According to the police, transactions totalling Rs 2,72,97,899.50 were carried out through the ICICI Bank current account.

“A check of the account on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) also revealed 37 complaints from different states, involving alleged fraud of Rs 7,01,47,845,” police said.

The three previously arrested accused were identified as Satyajit Manjariya, 28, of Ahmedabad and originally from Amreli; Pankajkumar Ramani, 39, of Surat and originally from Rajkot district; and Vivek Beldiya, 30, of Surat and originally from Bhavnagar district.

The Cyber Crime Cell appealed to people not to hand over their bank accounts to others for commissions, warning that such accounts could be used for cyber fraud and that account holders could face legal action for transactions conducted through them.

New Delhi, Oct 2: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers, who were detained during a protest at the national capital’s Jantar Mantar on Friday and were brought to the Fatehpur Beri Police Station in south Delhi, asserted that they were “not afraid of the police” while demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resignation.

The Opposition’s “vote theft” allegations against Gyanesh Kumar gained momentum following a media report claiming differences within the poll panel.

Speaking to media, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who was among the detainees, said: “Indians got the right to vote when millions of freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to win independence for the country. Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us the right to vote,” while accusing the BJP-led Centre of attempting to take away the right to vote, “through Gyanesh Kumar”.

“No FIR is being registered against Gyanesh Kumar over vote theft, but those protesting to demand his resignation are being brutally picked up and taken to police stations. But we are not afraid of the police. The fight for democracy will continue,” she asserted.

AAP spokesperson Anurag Dhanda, who was also detained, echoed a similar view.

“We are simply demanding that democracy should not be destroyed. We were saying that people should have the right to vote. Gyanesh Kumar took away the right to vote and committed vote theft, yet the vote thief is not being put in jail. Instead, they brought us here and made us sit at the police station. This is a complete dictatorship of the Modi government,” he told media.

Meanwhile, several other AAP leaders, including the party’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLA Jarnail Singh, took part in a protest march in the national capital.

Talking to media, Bharadwaj cited agitations across the country by all age groups, demanding the resignation of the CEC.

“Various political parties, social organisations, youth groups, student unions, and students from colleges and universities are protesting across the country to save the country — to protect the country’s democracy. So, Gyanesh Kumar will have to be removed, reforms must be made in the Election Commission, and the irregularities in the SIR must be rolled back. This is the only solution, and the government will have to accept it,” he said.

Jarnail Singh added: “The two fellow Election Commissioners have exposed the CEC. As long as we were saying it, it could have been termed as allegations, but now their crime has been proven. Gyanesh Kumar should face a case of treason, be arrested, and be dismissed immediately for deleting votes to help the BJP.”

“The country won’t accept this kind of hooliganism,” he told media.

AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha accused the BJP and Gyanesh Kumar of “conspiring to end democracy”.

“A case of treason and betrayal against the country’s democracy should be filed against Gyanesh Kumar, and he should be immediately locked up in jail,” he added.