Notorious Crime Syndicate Busted: Delhi Police Cracks Down on Gangster Bhau's Empire

In a major crackdown, the Delhi Police's crime branch has booked 10 members of a notorious crime syndicate led by gangster Himanshu Bhau under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The cases of the accused will now be monitored by a newly established MCOCA cell within the unit.

Bhau and his close aide, Sahil Ritolia, have also been declared absconders by a court, as the police have increased efforts to locate and bring them back from abroad. Both gangsters are currently operating from the United States and are involved in multiple firing-for-extortion cases in Delhi over the last two years.

To ensure the trial can proceed even in the absence of the accused, a request for trial in absentia has been moved before the court. This legal concept, introduced in India under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), allows for criminal trials to be conducted in the physical absence of the accused who have absconded to evade the judicial process.

According to the joint commissioner (Crime) Surender Kumar, the gang has been brought under the MCOCA due to its involvement in extortion, kidnapping, and murder, targeting business owners, property dealers, and public figures. The police have highlighted incidents such as the firing at a car showroom in Tilak Nagar that left six people injured and the murder of an anti-gang member in a Burger King outlet in Rajouri Garden. They have also killed four shooters of the gang in encounters.