New Delhi: In the past year, the shooters of different gangsters arrested by Delhi Police had one thing in common. Whether it was the Lawrence Bishnoi group or his rival Bambiha syndicate and their alliances active in Delhi-NCR and elsewhere, gangsters and their henchmen were found using an Armenian application — Zangi — to communicate amongst themselves, thwarting any possibility of surveillance over them, according to sources.
A few months ago, Delhi Police arrested two shooters of gangster Himanshu Bhau and found that they were communicating on Zangi. “The application contained instructions from Bhau asking them to stay in pairs at different locations, collect weapons discreetly and destroy evidence after committing crimes. Denied the use of SIM cards, the shooters relied on Wi-Fi from passersby, deleting data regularly to maintain secrecy,” an investigator said.
Similarly, another shooter of Bhau, Subhash, allegedly involved in over a dozen cases of murder and extortion, was found using Zangi to connect with the kingpin. The Burger King shooters or the henchmen of UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, allegedly involved in firing incidents at two business establishments in west Delhi recently, were also found communicating on the app. As were some members of the Gogi gang who were held last month.
The app’s untraceable network, according to cops, makes it challenging for them to track down users and locate their hideouts. Typically, police rely on a suspect’s mobile or internet network to catch them. However, Zangi allows one to use the app without providing their mobile number or email. Instead, it generates its own 10-digit number, enabling criminals to communicate with their associates without revealing their mobile numbers. The recipient’s screen flashes only the generated number.
Explaining its popularity among criminals, a cyber cell cop said, “In this app, once you send a message, it goes through the server and then to your intended target. As soon as the message is delivered, it gets deleted from the servers. So, the messages cannot be tracked, and only the recipient and the destination can access them or audio/video calls.”
Besides gangsters, online scammers and Maoists have also been using the app extensively. Last year, on the recommendation of security and intelligence agencies, Centre banned 14 mobile messaging applications, including Zangi, that were allegedly being used by terror groups to communicate with supporters and overground workers.
