Police bust Nandu Gang extortion plot, five held

Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested three alleged sharpshooters linked to the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang and two suspected weapon suppliers in connection with a planned extortion firing at a clinic in southwest Delhi’s Chhawla area.

Police said the accused were allegedly sent by gangster Kapil Sangwan to open fire at the clinic to threaten the owner for extortion. The planned attack, however, could not be carried out after the accused found a heavy public presence near the target location.

Three semi-automatic pistols, four live cartridges, and three mobile phones were recovered from the accused, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Narra Chaitanya of the Northern Range, Special Cell, said the arrests had dealt a major blow to the extortion network allegedly being operated by the gang. “With this operation, Delhi Police has successfully foiled a major planned firing incident for extortion in the capital,” the officer said.

Police said the Special Cell had been tracking organised criminal gangs involved in extortion and targeted attacks in Delhi-NCR through technical surveillance and intelligence gathering. According to investigators, specific inputs were received that Punjab-based shooters had been recruited by Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu for a firing incident in Delhi.

After more than a month of surveillance and source development, police identified the suspects who had allegedly conducted reconnaissance of the clinic in February 2026. On March 20, the police team arrested Abhishek, a resident of Amritsar in Punjab. During questioning, he allegedly revealed details of the planned attack and named his associates.

Police later arrested Sahil and Harshdeep alias Polu, both from Amritsar, along with Karan alias Ankush and Aman from Kaithal in Haryana. Investigators said Harshdeep was allegedly in direct contact with Kapil Sangwan and had recruited the other shooters for the planned firing. Police claimed that the gang members had travelled to Delhi earlier this year after arrangements for weapons, ammunition, and a motorcycle were made through associates based in Kaithal.

According to police, the accused surveyed the clinic but postponed the attack because of crowd movement in the area. During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed details about the gang’s functioning and the methods used to avoid police detection. Police said the mobile phones recovered from the accused were being used to communicate with Kapil Sangwan.

Investigators also said the operation helped expose parts of the extortion network allegedly being run by the gangster from abroad. According to police records, some of the accused already had criminal cases registered against them in Punjab and Haryana.

Sahil is allegedly involved in a case registered at Makboolpura police station in Amritsar, while Harshdeep was earlier booked in a theft-related case at the same police station. Karan alias Ankush also has an Arms Act case registered against him in Kaithal, police said.

Police said Abhishek studied up to Class 10 before allegedly joining criminal activities through his associates. Harshdeep is a Class 9 dropout, while Sahil had also left school after Class 10. Investigators said Karan and Aman allegedly helped in collecting and delivering weapons to the shooters in Delhi. Police said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace the wider extortion racket linked to the gang.