A Delhi court on Thursday sentenced five members of the Bharat Bhushan gang to life imprisonment under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for their involvement in a series of armed robberies, extortion and other offences across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), observing that their conduct posed a threat to society and left little scope for reformation.
Emphasising the gang’s modus operandi, the court’s conviction judgment specifically listed the kinds of targets in the previous cases cited by the prosecution: employees of cash-collection companies, bank employees, cashiers carrying money for deposit, security guards accompanying cash vans and even a grocery shop owner. The court found that the gang members’ offences involved violence and the use of arms, with pecuniary gain as their common objective. Special Judge Gaurav Rao of Rouse Avenue Courts awarded life imprisonment to all five convicts — Bhushan alias Tony, Neeraj, Vikash, Jitender and Deepak —- under Section 3(4) of MCOCA, which punishes membership of an organised crime syndicate, and imposed a fine of ₹ 5 lakh each.
The gang was also accused of threatening people to extort money and intimidating witnesses to prevent them from deposing against its members, the prosecutor told the court. Explaining its decision to impose the maximum punishment, the court said the number of cases involving the accused and the nature of the crimes committed by them were grave and heinous. “Their disclosure statements, part of which has been discussed in the judgment, highlight the impunity with which the convicts committed various crimes with absolutely no care for human life,” the judge observed.
The court also rejected the plea for leniency made by the defence, which had cited the convicts’ prolonged incarceration and family responsibilities.
