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.
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Mamata blames EC for 'failing to protect' judicial officers gheraoed over voter name deletion
Sagardighi (WB) (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday blamed the Election Commission for "failing to protect" judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise in West Bengal's Malda district.
Seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were rescued by security forces after protesters gheraoed them for several hours on Wednesday over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls.
"I condemn the Election Commission for failing to protect the judicial officers," Banerjee said, addressing an election rally here in Murshidabad district.
Claiming that the EC posted its own officers in civil and police administration after announcement of assembly polls in the state, Banerjee accused the poll body of having "totally failed to control law and order".
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Several officers, including the state's chief secretary, home secretary and director general of police (DGP), were replaced in West Bengal soon after the assembly polls were announced by the Election Commission.
"All my powers have been taken away, I have never seen such an Election Commission," the chief minister said.
Banerjee claimed that the BJP's game plan is to get the assembly polls cancelled in Bengal and to get President's Rule imposed.
"There are communal people in the BJP, and some communal people have also entered your ranks," Banerjee said, addressing the rally.
She claimed that such people flew in from Hyderabad with money from the BJP and are trying to divide the Muslim votes in the state.
