A court in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh on Saturday declined to grant police remand of gangster Sunil Kumar Meena alias Mayank Singh, who was extradited from Azerbaijan, and sent him to judicial custody.
Officials said the Jharkhand ATS is likely to secure his remand on Monday to question him in multiple extortion and gang-related cases across the state.
A senior ATS officer, Rishabh Jha, told The Indian Express that Singh was brought to Ranchi this morning and was produced before the Ramgarh court. Jha said that while Singh was forwarded to judicial custody, the agency is pressing for police remand to interrogate him in multiple cases registered across the state. “We prayed for remand today, but it will likely be granted from Monday. Once in custody, we will question him on his involvement in nearly four dozen cases, as well as his links with organised gangs,” the officer said.
The officer said that Singh’s association with the notorious Aman Sahu gang has already been established, and further interrogation will help unearth wider networks. After arriving at Ranchi airport in the morning, Singh was taken to the ATS headquarters and then to Birsa Munda Jail.
Mayank Singh was taken into custody in Baku in October last year, after which he was lodged in a prison there. Later, the Jharkhand ATS initiated the issuance of a Red Corner Notice against him. On this basis, he was arrested in Azerbaijan and brought back to Jharkhand. This marks the first-ever extradition case in the history of the Jharkhand police.
He was produced before the court in connection with a case registered at Patratu police station, in which he is accused of extortion.
According to the FIR, complainant Dilip Dangi, a 38-year-old social and political worker from Ramgarh, alleged that on September 14 and 16, 2022, he received WhatsApp messages on his mobile phone demanding Rs 5 lakh in cash and Rs 30,000 per month, with threats to kill him if he failed to comply. The messages, sent from two international numbers, also mentioned the name Mayank Singh of the Aman Sahu gang.
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The FIR further records that similar threats were also received by Dangi’s neighbour Ram Krishna Singh, a crusher owner, and another local resident, Amrendra Kumar Sah, from the same numbers. The case was registered under IPC Sections 385 and 387 (extortion with threat of death or grievous hurt), and the investigation was handed over to the concerned police officer.
Singh faces around 50 criminal cases, including extortion and gang-related offences, across various districts in Jharkhand and in other states such as Punjab and Rajasthan.
