Gangster wanted in three states lands behind bars, pistol seized

An alleged gangster, wanted for about a dozen cases of murder, extortion and violation of the Arms Act, has been arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

Anand, 24, was wanted by the police in three different states. Haryana Police had declared a reward of Rs 25,000 on his arrest. He had been shifting to his various hideouts in five states for the past few months to escape arrest.

Anand was arrested near Kashmere Gate bus stand on Monday when he was waiting to meet an associate, police said on Wednesday. A semi-automatic pistol and half-a-dozen cartridges were recovered from him.

Anand mainly ran an extortion racket in and around Karnal in Haryana. “In October 2013, he and his associates shot dead a jeweler for not yielding to their extortion demands,” police said. A few days later, Anand opened fire on another man in Rohtak for standing up against his extortion demands.

Goes underground

With police chasing him in  two cases, he was forced to go underground.He then joined hands with an old associate to extort a large sum of money from a Gujarat-based textile businessman Sachin.

The victim informed police and Anand had a narrow escape when he went to collect the extortion amount. He had to retreat without the money. Anand was, however, irked by police’s involvement in the case and kidnapped Sachin’s business partner Ashish as revenge.

The gangster and his associates stayed in Uttarakhand forests for a few days with the abducted victim till they realised the ransom amount. The victim was then abandoned in Muzaffarnagar.

But Anand continued to be actively involved in crime even on the run.  His latest dare was on April 9 when he and his gang robbed a jewellery shop in Haridwar. When the jeweller resisted, he was shot at. Anand then fled to Delhi where he was arrested.