Cop’s wife & her associates caught for extorting traffic police

New Delhi: A policeman's wife and two of her male associates are among the latest arrests in an ongoing investigation by the crime branch into a brazen extortion syndicate targeting traffic police personnel. The woman, Sneh Lata, was the kingpin of a module active in this scam. Her husband was posted in the traffic unit for six years and had recently been transferred to central range. The police started probing this module after a traffic cop alleged that he was being blackmailed into paying Rs 1.2 lakh. Acording to DCP (crime branch) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, the complainant alleged that the trio threatened to release fabricated and "objectionable" videos of him, which investigators now confirm were doctored to simulate professional misconduct.Lata had come under the scanner after she was spotted in CCTV cameras while trapping traffic. She used to have a piece of cloth wrapped around her face to hide her identity. The cops then laid a trap and a team led by inspector Arun Sindhu and ACP Sanjay Nagpal, arrested Lata (32) and her associates — Sachin and Amir Chaudhary, alias Sikander from Samalakha.Lata turned out to be the mastermind of the module. DCP Yadav said the gang used hidden spy cameras to clandestinely record officers during routine challan proceedings. This raw footage was then handed over to an accomplice for manipulation, where it was edited and distorted to create a false impression of corruption, serving as the primary instrument for their blackmail.Interrogations revealed that Lata had previously been an associate of another kingpin, named Ashok Kumar alias Babli. Following his death in Dec 2025, she reportedly branched out to form her independent cell.While she and Sachin had no prior criminal record, Amir — a cab driver — was found to have been previously involved in a similar crime syndicate. The police have registered a case under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 308 (2) for extortion.Cops are now focusing on tracking down the remaining members of the gang, specifically the person responsible for editing the videos and a woman accomplice allegedly involved in the recordings. Several mobile phones that were used to coordinate the scheme have been seized as evidence. The probe is, however, strangely silent on the role of the traffic cops. A well-oiled racket of this scale seems impossible without insider connivance.The crime branch had first busted the racket in Dec and arrested the main kingpin Raju Meena. The gang was selling special stickers to facilitate hassle-free movement without documents. Each sticker cost Rs 2000-5000. The syndicate manufactured and distributed over 2,000 such stickers every month.