India, July 13 -- The Delhi Police on Sunday said they have arrested three alleged shooters linked to the Harry Boxer gang and foiled a conspiracy to extort businessmen and carry out targeted killings across Delhi-NCR, an official said on Sunday. Police recovered three illegal pistols, including a 9-mm calibre and a Beretta, along with 26 live cartridges, he said. Police said the operation was jointly carried out by the Special Staff of Rohini district and North Rohini police station following months of investigation into an extortion case registered earlier this year. According to police, a businessman lodged a complaint on March 8 alleging he had received repeated calls and messages from foreign-based phone numbers between March 6 and 8. Also Read - Vinod Nagar: Constable shoots wife dead on her birthday, flees The caller identified himself as Randeep Malik, and claiming was associated with the Harry Boxer gang, demanded an amount of Rs 1 crore and threatened to kill the complainant if the money was not paid. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered. "During the probe, police found that the gang had expanded its operations beyond extortion and was conducting reconnaissance of businessmen's residences across Delhi-NCR for targeted killings. Similar extortion calls were allegedly made to several jewellers in the Karol Bagh area," a senior police officer said. The threat escalated on July 4 when the complainant again received a call along with photographs and videos of his residence. The caller identified himself as Harry Boxer and claimed that surveillance of the house had already been completed. Also Read - Four minors feared drowned in Yamuna He allegedly threatened to kill either the businessman or one of his family members if the extortion demand was not met. Police said the revelation that the complainant's house had already been surveyed prompted an intensive investigation involving technical surveillance, human intelligence, CCTV analysis covering the previous 15 days, digital forensic examination and scrutiny of encrypted communications. The investigation led police to Shiv Govind, whose movements matched technical inputs gathered during the probe. He was apprehended from Srinivaspuri in Delhi. Examination of his mobile phone revealed photographs and videos of the complainant's residence as well as photographs of jewellery establishments in Karol Bagh. Police said the material had been transmitted to gang handlers through an encrypted messaging application. "Based on sustained interrogation and technical analysis, police identified two more alleged gang members -- Abhinav alias Akash Singh, and Vivek. Police recovered three pistols, 26 cartridges, a motorcycle and mobile phones containing incriminating evidence. Investigation is underway to trace the gang's handlers, financiers and overseas operatives.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.