Kaushal’s girlfriend & partner in crime held, top cop says notorious gang ‘likely finished’

Gurgaon: They have struggled to lay their hands on Kaushal but Gurgaon police tasted big success in their pursuit of the city’s most wanted gangster by tracking down his live-in partner to a house in Delhi’s Burari and taking her into custody on Sunday.
Manisha, now 30, was in Class 12 when she met Kaushal, investigators said, and was currently running his extortion business along with Kaushal’s cousin Rahul Dagar. The arrest of Manisha, and earlier of Dagar from IGI airport, led Gurgaon police chief Muhammad Akil to declare that the Kaushal gang “is likely finished”.
“We have nabbed almost all major members and now we are looking for Kaushal. That will be the end of the story soon,” Akil said. Kaushal is believed to have spent a considerable amount of his fugitive time in Thailand, from where he had uploaded a YouTube video that showed him living it up. He also had a base in Dubai, from where Manisha had arrived recently, on May 16, and rented a place in Burari, a police officer said.
Manisha, who the officer said had done her masters in English and also studied mass communication, was tracked down on the basis on information gleaned from Dagar who the police nabbed last Thursday after he flew into IGI in a plane from Thailand. She was sent to judicial custody by a city court on Monday. Police are also probing her role in the murder of property dealer Vijay Batra alias Tantrik by gunmen on Sohna road this February. One of accused in the murder, Ashu alias Hukka, had told interrogators the murder of Tantrik was supervised by Manisha and Dagar.
Police sources said Manisha frequently travelled to Dubai to meet Kaushal. “We nabbed Rahul Dagar when he was returning from Thailand. Investigations revealed they (Dagar and Manisha) were running the extortion business of Kaushal and were getting money through hawala channels,” said Rajeev Deswal, DCP (crime).
An officer said ‘Operation Cleanup’ against the Kaushal gang got an impetus when inspector Narender Chauhan, head of the crime unit in Sector 17, got a tipoff about Dagar (26) returning to Delhi from Thailand. On Sunday morning, Chauhan led a police team to the Burari flat where Manisha had put up. Manisha’s uncle too lives there but she had rented a separate flat.
“She (Manisha) knew Vijay Batra was asked to pay Rs 25 lakh extortion and in a WhatsApp call she said he should be eliminated if he failed. She had reportedly said these instructions came from Kaushal himself,” said Deswal.
A senior police officer said Manisha had not given any information on Kaushal during questioning. ” She told us she was in Dubai and has a tourist visa of two years,” the officer said.
Kaushal and Manisha’s wedding was planned in 2006 but Kaushal was lodged in jail at that time and did not get parole, police sources said. The two did not get married after that.