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By Sreya Chatterjee: On Tuesday, notorious ganglord Sunil Mann aka Tillu Tajpuria was stabbed to death with a ‘sua’ needle by members of a rival gang inside the maximum-security Tihar prison complex. Last month, an aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was killed after a gang war erupted in the jail. Four other inmates were also injured in the violence, according to reports.
These two back-to-back incidents have once again put the spotlight on the grimy underbelly of Delhi and the many organised criminal groups that infest it. Besides engaging in a gamut of nefarious activities, these gangs also clash with one another over bitter rivalries and bloody turf wars. Grudges are nursed and paid back in spades – as seen in the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, for which the Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gang claimed responsibility.
In a recent crackdown on organised crime, the Special Cell and other units of Delhi Police have arrested and put behind bars several kingpins and core members of these gangs. However, many of these gangsters continue to operate from inside prison through a robust network of alliances with other gangs.
CRIMINAL ALLIANCES ON THE RISE
With cops cracking the whip on “gang culture” in and around Delhi, hardcore gangsters from neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have been trying to make inroads and plant their own flags in the national capital. They take advantage of the topographical loopholes where the state boundaries are mere demarcations and one can easily traverse without risk.
Other gangs based in the Delhi-Haryana-Punjab region expand their turf by forming alliances. All of these criminal alliances, operating prominently in the outer districts of the national capital, are on the police’s radar.
THE ENEMY OF AN ENEMY IS A FRIEND
A couple of years ago, jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, infamous in Punjab for smuggling drugs and arms, joined hands with Haryana’s most-wanted Sandeep aka Kala Jathedi. The latter was in the news when he made a daring escape from police custody in February 2020. He was again arrested by Delhi Police in July 2021.
Initially, Lawrence Bishnoi and Kala Jathedi, under their expansion strategy, had partnered up with Gurugram-based gangster Sube Gujjar and now-slain, Rajasthan-based extortionist Anandpal Singh. For over a year, the alliance tried to gain a foothold in Delhi, but found little success due to lack of support from any local gang.
Eventually, dreaded criminal Jitender Gogi, who had a rivalry with Tillu Tajpuriya since their college days, joined forces with Kala Jathedi – Lawrence Bishnoi. Gogi, who made headlines along with his equally notorious cronies for many public shootouts in Delhi-NCR, was caught in March 2020 after a four-year-long manhunt.
These gangs seem to live by the fundamental tenet that an enemy’s enemy is a friend. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has a long-standing feud with the Davinder Bambiha group. Sube Gujjar used to be the right-hand man of gangster Kaushal Chaudhary, associated with the Bambiha group, before the two fell out over a financial dispute. It was natural for Gujjar to side with Bishnoi.
BAD BLOOD
The Bambiha group, which runs an extortion racket in the tri-city area (Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula) has been at daggers drawn with the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate for many years. Their complicated history is checkered with turf wars and revenge killings. As per reports, their feud began when the Bishnoi gang started extorting businessmen from whom the Bambiha group was collecting protection money.
Their mutual acrimony intensified after the killing of Vicky Middukhera, believed to be close to Lawrence Bishnoi, by Bambiha group in August 2021. In retaliation, Bishnoi ordered a hit on Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was gunned down in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29, 2022.
After Moose Wala’s killing, it was gangster Neeraj Bawana and members of his gang who vowed to avenge their “brother” in “two days”.
Bawana gained prominence after Neetu Daboda, then reigning son of Delhi, was killed in a shootout with police in 2013.
Showing that the two can play that game, Bambiha group began joining forces with local gangsters to gain clout. It allied with Kaushal Chaudhary in Haryana and Neeraj Bawana and Tillu Tajpuriya in Delhi.
After his arrest, Tillu Tajpuriya met Delhi-based crimelord Neeraj Bawana in jail. The two became thick as thieves and provided financial and logistical support to the other. This arrangement worked for both of them, as Bawana had enmity with gangster Ashok Pradhan, who was associated with Jitender Gogi, with whom Tillu shared a friends-turned-foes backstory.
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