The gang used Instagram IDs like 302 which is a section under the Indian Penal Code, police said.
A 17-year-old boy who allegedly bragged about his criminal activities on Instagram, and also about his association with a jailed gangster to instil fear, has been arrested by the police in connection with at least four cases in Delhi, the police said on Friday.
The boy, who was just days from turning 18, led a gang that was involved in shootings and robberies in northeast Delhi, officials said. The gang used to fire upon innocent people without any reason to assert their dominance in the area and to seek the attention of Lawrence Bishnoi Gang. One member of the gang bragged about being in touch with a member of the Bishnoi gang, police officials said. A top Delhi gangster, Lawrence Bishnoi is involved in the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
By revealing the identity of the person he intended to kill, the boy was also trying to challenge the police, officials added, saying he was influenced by actor Vivek Oberoi's character in 2007 action thriller Shootout at Lokhandwala on dreaded gangster Maya Dolas.
The gang used Instagram IDs like 302 and 307 which are sections for murder and attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code.
The boy was caught by the police while he was about to kill a person he had mentioned in his Instagram Live two days ago. The gang was planning to gun down the man because he had beaten one of them recently, and recorded a video of the act, the police said.
A resident of Ghaziabad's Loni who dropped out of school after Class 7, the boy was once arrested in connection with a murder on November 2021, but was released later that year after the case was disposed of by Juvenile Justice Board, police officials said.
After his release, the boy formed a gang with two other minor boys and continued his criminal activities.
He has also been involved in a shootout with the police.