NEW DELHI: The crime branch has arrested a woman and booked her under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for her alleged involvement in laundering the proceeds of an organised criminal syndicate. This syndicate was reportedly extorting traffic policemen in the city.
Arrest and Remand
Surekha Rani, who was taken on remand for four days and later sent to judicial custody, is the wife of Raj Kumar alias Raju Meena. Law enforcement has identified Meena as the kingpin of this syndicate.
Following Meena’s arrest by a team led by DCP (crime) Sanjeev Yadav and his subsequent interrogation, investigators shifted their focus to the financial network supporting his illicit activities. Working in tandem with local informants and residents, police traced multiple immovable properties suspected to have been purchased using the syndicate’s illegal earnings.
Accumulation of Wealth
“A verification of ownership documents, utility records and inquiries with current tenants revealed a staggering accumulation of wealth,” police said in the document submitted in court for her remand.
The cops stated that they found seven prime immovable properties, valued at several crores of rupees, registered in the name of Rani through sale deeds and general power of attorney between 2022 and 2025.
Further financial scrutiny exposed a glaring discrepancy between her declared income and her asset accumulation. While her income-tax returns for 2021-25 reflected a modest annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh, official records show she acquired properties worth more than Rs 1.3 crore during 2022-24.
It was also discovered that she was actively receiving rent from the tenants occupying these properties through both online and offline channels. This established her not just as a proxy, but as an active beneficiary and repository for the syndicate’s wealth, police said.
Legal Proceedings
Officers said there was sufficient material evidence proving she knowingly facilitated the concealment and enjoyment of these illegally acquired assets. Consequently, she was arrested from her residence in Faridabad a few days ago under Section 4 of MCOCA, which penalises the possession of unaccounted wealth on behalf of organised crime members. Her mobile phone was seized for forensic analysis.
Rani, a mother of two, was produced before the duty judicial magistrate first class at the Saket courts.
Modus Operandi of the Syndicate
The syndicate allegedly operated a highly organised, “parallel system” of traffic enforcement, targeting commercial and private vehicle owners. The gang sold unauthorised stickers and distinct keyrings to drivers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, guaranteeing them immunity from police fines and illegal passage during restricted 'no-entry' hours, said investigators.
To enforce this protection and ensure compliance, gang members allegedly filmed traffic police personnel on duty. While some were filmed being given bribes on various pretexts, edited videos were allegedly used to target the rest, non-complying cops. They were blackmailed and harassed that their videos would be uploaded on social media.
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About the Author: Raj Shekhar Jha is a journalist for the Times of India with over a decade of experience in reporting on national security, terrorism, crime and prisons.
