Representative image of a police car
Credit: iStock. Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Police has identified eleven gangs involved in a continuous spree of extortions calls, threats to businessmen, shootings and killings in the national capital region in the past few months, officials source said.
In an interstate meeting held at the Delhi Police headquarters on Wednesday, the force's chief Sanjay Arora raised the issue of the growing menace of the gangs. Officers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan also attended the meeting.
The police commissioner directed the officers to control the gangs by invoking Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and other stringent local laws wherever applicable. MCOCA is also applicable in Delhi.
Arora also asked the officers to surveil minors associated with these gangsters and keep tabs on social media to know more about their activities.
* Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar gang: Members of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Canada-based Goldy Brar are on the top of the list of wanted criminals. The gang came into existence after Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab in 2022. Rohit Godara, a member of the gang, said he was behind the killing of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in Jaipur last year. The gang is also infamous for giving threats to Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
* Himanshu Bhau gang: At just 22 years of age, Himanshu Bhau, suspected to be staying Spain or Portugal, is running a crime syndicate based out of Europe. Hailing from Haryana's Rohtak, he is facing over 50 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion threats and Arms Act in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Three of his associates were involved in opening fires at a second hand luxury car showroom in Tilak Nagar area in May. The same gangsters were allegedly involved in a murder in a Burger King joint in Rajouri Garden in west Delhi.
* Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang: Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, 32, is a gangster wanted by Haryana and Delhi Police. He is suspected to be staying in United Kingdom and is among the main suspects in the killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Haryana unit chief Nafe Singh Rathee. His elder brother Jyoti Sangwan, alias Baba, is lodged in Tihar Jail.
* Manjeet Mahal gang: As a henchman of Anup-Balraj gang, Manjeet Mahal allegedly killed several associates of gangster-turned-politician Kishan Pehalwan. A resident of southwest Delhi's Mitraun village, he was active as a criminal in the late 90s and early 2000s. Mahal's name also surfaced in the murder of INLD leader Bharat Singh Bharte in 2016. He is presently lodged in Tihar jail but his fellow members are active attacking rivals of the Sangwan brothers gang, according to the official sources.
* Jitender Gogi-Sampat Nehra gang : Following a gang war with his rivals, Jitender Maan alias Gogi was shot dead inside Rohini Court in September 2021 but after him, Sampat Nehra has taken charge of his gang. A son of a sub-inspector and a sportsman in his college days, Nehra is said to be instrumental in recruiting youngsters and teenagers into his gang. Nehra is currently lodged in a Punjab jail.
* Kaushal gang: An arch rival of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Kaushal Chaudharywas allegedly involved in the murder of a young politician, Vicky Middukhera, in Mohali in August 2021. He is currently lodged in a jail in Punjab and is facing over a dozen cases, including murder and extortion, in Punjab and Delhi.
* Neeraj Faridpuria gang: Wanted in case of the murder of Congress leader Vikas Chaudhary in Faridabad in June 2019, Neeraj Faridpuria and his associates is infamous for extortion calls to businessmen and 'adhatias' of the grain market in Haryana. A resident of Faridabad and a close associate of Kaushal gang, his fellow gang members are also found to be involved in cases of extortion in Delhi.
* Neeraj Bawana gang : The gang is led by jailed gangster Neeraj Bawana, who is believed to make calls from Tihar Jail where he is currently lodged to demand extortion from Delhi- and Haryana-based businessmen. He was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in April 2015.
* Sunil Tillu gang: Sunil Maan, alias Tillu Tajpuria, was stabbed to death by members of rival Gogi gang in Tihar in May 2023. His gang members are believed to be looking for an opportunity to take revenge for his killing.
* Hashim Baba: Jailed gangster Hashim Baba, who is suspected to be behind the recent shooting at Delhi's GTB hospital that left a man dead, is facing 16 criminal cases, including for murder and attempt to murder. Before forming his own gang, Hashim Baba was a sharpshooter of the Nassir gang, active in trans-Yamuna areas.
* Irfan alias Chhenu gang: The Nassir-Irfan (alias Chhenu Pehalwan) gang have been fighting to gain supremacy in the illegal betting and gambling business in the trans-Yamuna areas.