From toll booth to tattoo parlor: Delhi Police nail extortion gang linked to Canada-based crime boss

In a dramatic breakthrough, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a high-profile extortion racket operating across the capital, arresting eight suspects — including a toll booth guard, a wrestler, and a tattoo artist — with links to Canada-based gangster Gurjant Lahoria, reported TOI.

The gang allegedly targeted city businessmen, using sophisticated weapons and violent threats to extort money. According to senior officers, Gurjant, who is now abroad, orchestrated the crimes from Canada by guiding the gang through encrypted chats — from arranging firearms and stolen vehicles to carrying out targeted firing outside victims' homes.

"Some of the accused first came in contact with Gurjant while serving time in jail. After his release and subsequent relocation to Canada, he began assigning them extortion jobs remotely, promising money and support," Additional CP Sanjay Sain told TOI.


The month-long investigation culminated after a tip-off that one of the suspects, Sumit Ghangas — a toll plaza security guard — was collecting a cache of ammunition in Chandigarh. He was caught with 45 live cartridges of 7.62 bore, leading to the arrest of the rest of the module from multiple locations in Haryana, including Karnal, Panipat, and Ambala.

According to the report, the group’s members come from varied backgrounds:

• Sumit Ghangas, the guard
  
  
• Rahul Ghangas, a farmer’s son with a criminal record
  
  
• Ashish, a student and Rahul’s cousin
  
  
• Rohit Kumar, a wrestler involved in a prior murder case
  
  
• Rahul Kashyap, an ex-garment shop worker with multiple cases
  
  
• Saurav, accused in an earlier attempt-to-murder case
  
  
• Preetpal, a tattoo artist who arranged gang logistics
  
  
• Deepak alias Gola, a farm store worker who helped transport arms
  
  

Police recovered five firearms — including three semi-automatic pistols — and 69 live cartridges, along with mobile phones used for coordination.

Special CP (Crime) Devesh Srivastva has ordered a city-wide crackdown on extortion gangs, noting that modules like this one are growing bolder with foreign handlers and digital toolsm, TOI further reported.

“These arrests show how varied individuals can be drawn into serious crime under the influence of remote criminal networks,” DCP Aditya Gautam said.