Crime Syndicate Blackmailed Delhi Traffic Cops

“When the officials stopped the driver, he kept pointing at a sticker on his windscreen, insisting it allowed him to pass. He admitted that these stickers were being sold openly, promising drivers immunity from challans during No-Entry hours. Within days, similar incidents started cropping up across Sarita Vihar, Saket, Paharganj, Civil Lines, Model Town, Kashmere Gate, and Jahangirpuri.”

“The group issued fresh stickers every month. Drivers paid between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 per vehicle, and were added to WhatsApp groups that acted as live control rooms. Through these groups, drivers received real-time alerts on traffic police movement and safe routes to take. It was sophisticated, organized.”

“Agar itta bada crime kar rahe the… ghar pe toh paise itte dikhe nahi kabhi. This house was not even painted for all these years. Just now we have painted and decked up this house.”

“I got a call on the evening of November 19 that my husband had been picked up by the police. The next day, Crime Branch people were at my door. God, I had never seen police even in my locality. And here they were, carrying guns. They searched the whole house, emptied my cupboards and bags, and told me my husband had been running some scam.”

“Bahar nikalna mushkil ho gaya hai. I can’t even show my face to people. He (Rana) is everywhere – on the news, on YouTube. Neighbours ask my kids about him. I am not even sending them to school.”

“He works as a broker in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar. He connects drivers with vehicle owners. That’s what he has been doing for over a decade.”

“It came when the syndicate targeted women traffic officers.”

“It has sent shockwaves through the police establishment.”

“That word alone was enough to unsettle them. In those moments, it was not the criminal who felt the fear – it was a few traffic police officers themselves.”

“This time, it was not money he demanded. He sought inappropriate favours from the women officers.”

“What initially seemed like occasional lapses or routine violations prompted closer scrutiny. An internal enquiry was set up to understand how such violations were occurring so openly and so frequently. As the enquiry progressed, it became clear that these were not isolated incidents or acts of chance.”

“This syndicate was mainly involved in distributing stickers to various transporters and monitoring the movements of traffic police. In this way, they were committing fraud against both transporters and the traffic police.”

“Considering the scale and organised nature of the syndicate, a case under MCOC Act was registered, formally recognising Raju’s operation as an organised crime syndicate.”

“It revealed that while the blackmail syndicate operated independently, it was feeding another organised crime operation – the sticker racket.”

“Picture this. Traffic policemen, heads bowed, sitting on the floor. Raju leans back in a chair, completely calm and unshaken. That’s how scared they were of him.”

“A step that signalled just how seriously the police now viewed the threat.”

“Commercial drivers were encouraged to deliberately violate traffic rules – jumping signals, entering no-entry zones, or plying during restricted hours. When traffic police intervened, the interactions were covertly recorded using spy cameras worn by drivers or videographers stationed nearby. These recordings were later edited and weaponised. They were used to threaten traffic police personnel with false complaints, departmental action, or public exposure.”