Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma held in Feb for hitting South Delhi DCP's car, released on bail
New Delhi, Mar 13: Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma was arrested and granted bail last month for allegedly ramming his car into the official vehicle of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), the Delhi Police said on Sunday.
The incident took place on February 22. Sharma was arrested the same day and released on bail by the investigating officer of the case, according to police.
A Paytm spokesperson said the reports claiming the nature of the arrest are "exaggerated".
According to the FIR, the complainant, constable Deepak Kumar, who was driving DCP Benita Mary Jaiker's car, stated that the incident took place when he and constable Pradeep were on the way to a petrol pump in Malviya Nagar from Hauz Khas.
When they reached near gate number 3 of Mother International School at Aurobindo Road, constable Kumar slowed down the car as people had gathered there to drop their kids, the FIR stated.
Meanwhile, a blue luxury car bearing a Haryana registration number hit the complainant's vehicle from the rear. The driver of the offending car escaped from the spot along with the vehicle, Delhi Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Suman Nalwa said.
Based on Kumar's complaint, a case under section 279 (rash driving) of the Indian Penal Code was registered on the same day, police said.
During investigation, the offending vehicle was identified and its driver Sharma was arrested and released on bail. Both the vehicles were impounded and mechanically inspected, Nalwa added.
In a statement, the Paytm spokesperson said, "A complaint was filed in connection with an alleged minor motor vehicle incident. There was no harm caused to any person or property in the said incident".
"Media reports claiming the nature of the arrest are exaggerated, as even the complaint against the vehicle was for a minor offense under a bailable provision of law and requisite legal formalities were completed on the same day," the spokesperson added.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
