Women chart course in crime

36 Held In 2008 For Economic Offences, Murder, Bootlegging

The fairer sex does not seem to be shying away from unfair trades.

In 2008, Delhi Police arrested 36 women for crimes ranging from economic offences, prostitution, bootlegging to murders — all of which points to how crime in the city is moving on from being a male bastion to one where women play a key role, be it as the femme fatal or sometimes even the mastermind. Not all of them take to crime to survive but all of them when they do, show a knack for beating the men at their own game. Many seem to have taken to crime at the behest of their men.

When Delhi Police on Sunday arrested Kanika Budhiraja (27) for allegedly duping airlines worth crores of rupees along with her gang, they were in for a surprise when she turned out to be suave, well educated and executive like criminal. Why Buddhiraja turned into a criminal is still a mystery for the cops but what they say is that women like Budhiraja are increasingly found in this ‘high gain, low risk’ world of e-frauds.

In September this year, the crime branch arrested some gang members owing allegiance to a woman identified as Mona (35). She along with her gang used to pick targets from the inland container depot at Tughlaqabad.

Mona would use her charms to get lifts from the targeted truckers and then loot the high worth consignments they would be transporting.

She and her accomplices were also found to be involved in three murder cases, say policemen. Still at large, Mona is said to be a native of Hapur and a school dropout. Her modus operandi is simpl. The gang run by her zeroes onto a particular container or truck and befriends its driver. Her friends then seek a lift and, on the way, kill the driver and flee with the truck only later to sell the consignment inside the truck.

In January this year, the crime branch arrested a call centre employee, Ekta Mansukhani (24), who hired a gang of snatchers. Experts attribute several reasons for this trend, primary among them being socio-economic causes. Many of the women criminals started their life of crime in gangs led by men. As the most trusted lieutenants, they often took over the mantle Neelabh after the gang leader was either killed or arrested.

The police have realised that while its attention has traditionally been focussed on male criminals, women criminals sometimes get away purely because of their gender. Recently, the south district police arrested Geeta Arora Sonu Punjaban (32), an alleged pimp working for dreaded criminals like Hemant Sonu. During interrogation, Punjaban revealed that she had been associated with a number of criminals and provided active support for their activities. “She was fascinated by criminals. She has been associated with them for the last 12 years. Her first boyfriend from the underworld was Vijay Singh, an extortionist from Uttar Pradesh who belonged to the Sriprakash Shukla gang. He was killed by the Special Task Force of UP police in an encounter,” said a senior police officer.

It is not just young women. Shakila (53) was arrested for murder, bootlegging and betting from Preet Vihar area. Shakila became so notorious that she had to be finally externed from Delhi but she managed to operate from the periphery of the Capital with the help of her husband Shakil (25), who was half her age. Shakila, according to police records, has amassed wealth worth crores of rupees and owns three houses in Ramesh Park area of east Delhi. Shakil, a washerman, took to crime at the age of 18 years and is involved in 10 cases of murder, attempt to murder and robbery.

There have also been a number of incidents of women being used as couriers to smuggle counterfeit currency. In fact, five such women were arrested in 2007 by the Delhi Police. The lure for them was the hefty commissions they received.

NOT SO FAIR AFTER ALL

Oct 17, 2008: Nirupma Tiwari (32) arrested along with a Nigerian national allegedly for duping a Mumbai-based trader of Rs 2.5 lakh

Sep, 27, 2008: Sunita (29) and Preeti (27) arrested in southwest Delhi. They allegedly extorted money from men by threatening to implicate them in rape cases

Sep 25, 2008 : Eric Anthony William Massey and Liza (27) (name changed) arrested for the murder of retired GM of Indian Oil Corporation. Liza had come in contact with Goel on the internet

Sep 4, 2008: 41-year-old businessman Ajay Gupta from Prasad Nagar was murdered by a woman and her two accomplices. The woman, Lalita Khatri (23), befriended Gupta to rob him Dec, 27, 2008: Neetu Jain arrested along with her lover for allegedly plotting murder of her husband Pramod Jain, a jeweller

Source:-The Times of India Delhi 30 December 2008 P. 3
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