Gang wars in Delhi have traditionally played out in Southwest and Outer Delhi with the expansion of the Capital into suburbs in that direction, providing opportunities for extortion, land grabbing and criminal intimidation relating to real estate deals and financing.
However, the gangs of New Delhi have since moved into other areas of operation with different gangs having developed an “expertise” in a range of crimes from petty theft, armed robbery and running Mumbai-style protection rackets, to car-jacking, abduction and contract killings. The geographical spread of the gangs has also grown exponentially in the past five years with many of them very active in the trans-Yamuna areas now, with the escalation of rivalry between Chennu Pehelwan and Abdul Naseer gangs following shootout at Karkardooma Court, killing a Delhi Police constable and injuring Pehelwan.
Now, with three murders in East Delhi over the past ten days, the Delhi Police is taken aback with the virtual arsenal in use — over 60 rounds were fired on two men in two separate cases within a span of three hours in Northeast Delhi’s Brahampuri and Maujpuron last Monday. Police officers working on the ground have detected a new pattern in the gang rivalries, which created havoc on the streets — despite being behind bars, many gang leaders are running their gangs with impunity.
Talking about the gang rivalry that dominates the landscape of Northeast Delhi, a senior police officer with the Crime Branch said, “The murders of Wajid Ali, 35, a property dealer in Northeast Delhi’s Brahampuri and 23-year-old Aarif in the Maujpuri area on October 22 night are suspected to be a fallout of the Pehelwan-Naseer gang war. And just when our officers were about to leave these two crime scenes after gathering forensic evidence, a third killing took place in the Usmanpur area on Tuesday. The murder of Jafar Qureshi, alleged sharpshooter of the Naseer gang, who was facing 26 criminal cases, had unleashed a reign of terror on the law-abiding population of the Krishna Nagar area.”
In an effort to contain the spiraling gang rivalries in the Capital, the Delhi Police had brought in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in 2006. However, despite the law, New Delhi continues to be gripped by the terror unleashed by these criminal gangs who are resorting to extortion, rape, contract killing, armed robbery, carjacking and murder.
From South and Southwest to East and Northeast Delhi, the gangs of Delhi are emerging law and order issue of the day.
GANGS OF NEW DElHI — A Ready Reckoner
- Neeraj Bawana Gang —
South Delhi on radar
Wanted in more than a dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and robbery, Neeraj Bawana, from the eponymous village of Bawana, is currently serving a jail term. Carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, Neeraj Bawana was arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell in 2015. Infamous for extorting businessmen, Bawana runs a gang which consists of close to 100 members. Although more than a dozen members of the gang are behind bars, Neeraj’s command-and-control structure ensures the gang runs “smoothly” even in their and his absence. This gang is known in the criminal underworld to have the best and most notorious sharpshooters. A senior police officer told The Pioneer, “Although Neeraj Bawana is in jail, he still runs his gang quite effectively. He still takes supari (contracts for killing) and is suspected to be threatening businessmen from South and Southwest Delhi.”
- MM Gang —
Cop killers on Top Ten most wanted list
A senior police officer, who was part of the team which arrested Manoj Morkheri, told The Pioneer, “A native of Rohtak, Manoj started with petty crimes such as snatching. Soon, he formed his own gang and subsequently graduated to armed robbery, murder and extortion in both Delhi and Haryana. He was arrested in 2013 by the Crime Branch but continues to direct his gang’s operations. MM, as he is known to some, was allegedly involved in killing of a Haryana Police Inspector. He and two of his closest aides Vivek and Praveen were arrested while another gang member Rakesh, a former wrestler, was shot dead in the encounter in Alipur in March 2013. “MM is one of the top ten criminals in NCR and police in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan had declared rewards for his arrest. Morkheri is wanted in these States for extorting money from bookies and running a protection racket targeting traders and businessmen,” he added.
- Sandeep Chitania Gang —
looming large after death
Wanted in cases of murder and extortion in Delhi and Haryana, Sandeep Chitania from Sonipat, was shot by the Haryana Police a few weeks after he escaped from police custody in May 2013 while being produced in the Saket courts. But four years on, his accomplices still run the gang in his name. A senior police officer said, “The dozen-member gang is active mainly in Haryana and adjoining areas of Delhi. Real estate-related extortions and robberies are their main activities.” Apparently, Chitania’s name and notoriety sent such shivers down the spine of his victims that his gang members decided to continue using the moniker as it was more effective.
- Vikas langarpuria Gang —
DU dropout leads land-grabbers
A native of Jhajjhar in Haryana, Vikas langarpuria is a Delhi University dropout who took to crime to avenge the humiliation to his family and gained notoriety for his alleged involvement in the murder of former MlA Bharat Singh. Currently in Tihar Jail since June 2015, his two dozen-strong gang still operates with impunity; land grabbing is one its “specialities” apart from routine extortion. A police officer, who was part of the team which arrested langarpuria, told The Pioneer, “langarpuria was involved in several confrontations with slain ex-MlA Bharat Singh over buying and selling of plots in Najafgarh and nearby areas. Almost every disputed plot of land in Najafgarh had to have langarpuria’s stamp over it before it was bought/sold. Even gangs led by notorious criminals such as Manjeet Mahal and Naveen Khati feared him.” In 2012, langarpuria killed two members of Mahal’s gang in the same week and the killings had catapulted him to the top in Delhi’s underworld. A source said langarpuria entered the world of crime at age 16 after some locals beat up his family members. A BA student at DU’s Ramlal Anand College, he dropped out when he was in his second year. At the time of his arrest, he was wanted by police of five States. The south-west district police suspect he and his gang are behind two fresh crimes in his area of operation in past three months.
- Chennu Pehelwan Gang —
Kings of petty crime now active in gang wars
Chennu Pehelwan started committing petty crimes in the 1990s. Snatching and robbery were his gang’s mainstay till the emergence of the Abdul Naseer gang when rivalry broke out between the two. Despite his arrest in 2012, his gang continued to operate in East Delhi, expanding its activities to gambling, extortion, land grabbing and to new localities in Delhi and loni in Uttar Pradesh. “Even though Chennu and Naseer are behind bars, the gang war has taken lives of seven of gang members of either side since 2012,” a police officer told The Pioneer.