Vikas, an active member of the "Nandu Gang", was the mastermind, police said. (Representational)
Five men, including the 50-year-old head warden of a prison in northeast Delhi and jailed gangsters, have been arrested for running an extortion network from within, police officials said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Vikas, 28, Pramod Kumar, 30, Honey Rajpal, 35, and Jagmohan, 23. The head warden of Mandoli jail Rajender Singh has also been arrested, they said.
The police said Vikas, an active member of the "Nandu Gang", was the mastermind behind the extortion racket and allegedly operated from inside the jail where is currently kept.
Among the other gang members - Kumar was under judicial custody had recently come out on interim bail while Rajpal is also in the jail for murder.
According to the police, each of the five members of the racket had been assigned a specific task.
Kumar's job was to arrange SIM cards for Singh.
Singh, being a jail employee, was tasked to collect and deliver the SIM cards to Rajpal inside the jail by avoiding security.
While Rajpal arranged mobile phones, Vikas was the one who made WhatsApp calls and sent messages to the gang's targets, the police said.
A probe was launched after the police received a complaint on August 22 at Dwarka South police station from a Dabri resident who alleged that he had been receiving threats through WhatsApp calls and messages from two mobile numbers.
Details and current location of the two alleged contact numbers were traced during investigation and as per record, the numbers were found registered in the name of Jagmohan and Pramod Kumar, both residents of New Usmanpur, said Anto Alphonse, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka).
One of the numbers was found activated on August 6, while the other was found to be activated on July 27. The current location of both mobile numbers were traced to Budh Vihar, Mandoli, he said.
Following raids, the police caught Jagmohan, who told them during interrogation that he got four SIM cards issued in the name of his cousin - Kumar - on August 6, the police officer said.
Later, Kumar who, was out on interim bail in a murder case, was also caught, he said.
"During interrogation, Kumar disclosed that while in jail, he met Honey Rajpal, who is currently lodged in Mandoli jail in a murder case. When he came out on interim bail, Rajpal called him to arrange and deliver 10 SIM cards inside the jail through the head warden. Rajpal told him that he would receive Rs 2,000 per SIM," Mr Alphonse said.
"So Kumar got four SIM cards issued in his name and six SIM in his brother Jagmohan's name and handed them over to Mandoli jail's head warden," the officer said.
After examining SIM card dealers and their records, head warden Rajender Singh was also arrested. On the basis of his disclosure and WhatsApp chats, the police later arrested Rajpal and Vikas, he said.
The police have recovered three mobile phones of the accused and also accessed WhatsApp chats between Honey Rajpal, Pramod Kumar and Singh, he added.