Gogi murder: Look at Delhi’s most notorious criminal ganglords

Dreaded gangster Jitender Mann, alias Gogi was killed in a daring shoot-out by two assailants inside a courtroom in Rohini courts complex on Friday, when Gogi went there for hearing in a case. Both assailants were gunned down by the police in retaliatory firing. The police suspect that the shoot-out is the culmination of one of the most notorious rivalries between two gangs of Delhi --- Gogi and Tillu Tajpuriya gangs. Once friends, Gogi and Tajpuriya fell apart after difference over candidates in college election. The case has put a spotlight on these gangs and their rivalries in the national Capital. Here are some of the most notorious gangsters of Delhi:

Name: Jitender Maan, alias Gogi, 30

Status: Shot dead inside a courtroom at Rohini courts complex

Crime: Nearly 30 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, carjacking, land grabbing

Main rival/s: Sunil Maan alias Tillu Tajpuriya

Resident of outer Delhi’s Alipur, Gogi was pursuing his graduation from Delhi University’s (DU’s) Swami Shraddhanand College in 2010 when differences broke out between him and his friend Sunil Maan aka Tillu Tajpuriya from Tajpur village (Alipur) during the college elections. As Tajpuriya’s cousin was also contesting the elections, he and his associates allegedly assaulted a candidate whom Gogi and his associates supported. The candidate withdrew his name from the elections and Gogi held Tajpuriya responsible for it. It was beginning of the decade-long rivalry between Gogi and Tajpuriya that has resulted in bloodbaths on Delhi’s streets and killings of nearly two dozen people from both the sides. The duo strengthened themselves by joining hands with other gangsters of the neighbouring states – both for raising funds through illegal activities such as extortion and land grabbing and executing extortion killings. Both of them topped the Delhi Police’s list of most wanted criminals while they evaded their arrest. Gogi was arrested along with his three associates from an apartment in Gurugram by the counter intelligence unit of Delhi Police’s special cell in March 2020, after running away from law for almost four years. He was lodged in Tihar jail as a high-risk prisoner.

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Name: Sunil Maan alias Tillu Tajpuriya, 32

Status: Lodged in Mandoli jail, Delhi

Crime: Nearly 10 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, criminal conspiracy, theft

Main rival/s: Jitender Maan aka Gogi

Networking and association: Tajpuriya gang has been in association with gangs led by jailed gangsters like Neeraj Bawana, Sunil Rathi, Naveen Bali and Kaushal.

Criminal life at a glance: Born in Tajpur Kalan village in outer Delhi’s Alipur, Tajpuriya entered the crime world in 2010-11 following enmity with his former friend Jitender Maan alias Gogi over not supporting each other’s candidate in the college elections. The bloodbath started when Gogi and his associates allegedly killed Tajpuriya’s associate, Deepak alias Raju at northwest Delhi’s Mahendra Park in 2015. Raju was in a relationship with Gogi’s cousin sister, and he used to tell everyone that he was Gogi’s brother-in-law. Humiliated, Gogi killed Raju. In response, Tajpuriya and his associates killed Gogi’s key aides Arun alias Commando and Niranjan alias master, in 2015. Tajpuriya was arrested in 2016 by the Haryana Police, and is presently lodged in Delhi’s Mandoli jail. His gang has the support of many gangsters from Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Despite in jail, he has allegedly been involved in the planning murders, extortion other illegal activities. He is suspected to be the prime conspirator in Gogi’s killing.

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Name: Sandeep alias Kala Jatheri, 37

Status: Arrested in July, presently in Haryana Police’s custody

Crime: Nearly 40 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and attack on police personnel. Carried ₹7 lakh reward on his arrest.

Main rival/s: Not known but Jatheri was supporting Gogi against Tajpuriya

Networking and association: In the recent years, Jatheri’s criminal network was spanning over states like Haryana, Rajastha, Punjab and Uttarahand, apart from Delhi where he had become the undisputed ganglord after Gogi’s arrest in 2020. He is backed jailed gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra.

Criminal life at a glance: While pursuing ITI course from Sonepat, Jatheri and his associates snatched a mobile phone from one Shahar Khan at a liquor shop in Delhi’s Samaipur Badli in 2004. It was the first crime registered against him. He was caught and sent to jail. Jatheri’s name was added to the list of Haryana Police’s most wanted in 2012, when he and his three associates rammed a prison van with a truck near Dulina village of Haryana’s Jhajjar district and opened fire, killing three prisoners — all rivals. Two policemen were also injured in the incident. Jatheri was later arrested and convicted for life in the case. After his escape in February 2020, Jatheri was heading a major international crime alliance, with links to Virender Pratap aka Kala Rana (operating from Thailand), Goldy Brar (based in Canada) and Monty (operating from the UK). This alliance was involved in high-profile extortions, interstate bootlegging, especially in dry states, illegal firearms smuggling and land grabbing.

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Name: Lawrence Bishnoi, 29

Status: Presently in Ajmer jail

Crime: Nearly 10 cases of murder, extortion and criminal conspiracy, mostly in Punjab. One case under Arms Act in Delhi

Main rival/s: Not known, but Bishnoi was supporting Gogi in his rivalry with Tajpuriya

Networking and association: Apart from managing the extortion network in Punjab and Rajasthan, Bishnoi has been instrumental in helping gangsters like Jatheri and Gogi establish their dominance in Delhi’s crime world.

Criminal life at a glance: Born in a rich family in Punjab’s Ferozepur district, Bishnoi was a college student in Chandigarh and the campus president of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) in 2011. He was first named in an assault and robbery case but he came to limelight in 2018, when a gangster from Rajasthan, Sampat Nehra, was arrested from Bengaluru and his interrogation revealed that he was planning an attack on a Bollywood actor at Bishnoi’s behest. Most notorious of his crimes in Delhi include involvement in conspiracies, extortion and shoot-outs with police, including the one at the GTB hospital after which gangster Kuldeep Maan alias Fajja escape from the police custody. Despite being lodged in Ajmer jail, Bishnoi was providing logistical support to Gogi, Jatheri and other criminals in Delhi. It is because of this reason that he was brought to Delhi for interrogation by the special cell and is presently lodged in a Delhi jail.

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Name: Deepak Pahal, alias Deepak Boxer, 25

Status: Absconding; carries ₹2 lakh reward on his arrest

Crime: Nearly 10 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and attack on police

Main rival/s: Tajpuriya gang because of his association with his mentor Gogi (now dead)

Networking and association: Since Gogi’s arrest in 2020, Pahal has been leading his gang and working in coordination with Jatheri, Bishnoi, Nehra and others in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab.

Criminal life at a glance: Born in Ganaur in Sonepat, Pahal aspired to become a boxer since Haryana’s boxer Vijender Singh won a bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics. Despite resistance from the family, Pahal began pursuing a career in boxing at the age of 15, and soon became a junior national champion. In 2012, when Indian Boxing Federation was banned, Pahal and many other aspiring boxers felt devastated and some of them were recruited by gangsters. Pahal became Gogi’s confidant and got the nickname of ‘Boxer’. He is allegedly involved in helping gangsters Gogi, Kala Jatheir and Kuldip Mann, escape police custody. On March 25 this year, Pahal and his over a dozen associates executed the successful escape of Fajja from police custody following a gunbattle with four policemen at GTB Hospital. One attacker was killed and other was injured. Pahal allegedly had thrown red chilli powder on the policemen’s faces before snatching a patient’s bike and fleeing with Fajja, who was gunned down three days later by the special cell team at Tulsi Apartment in Rohini. After Gogi’s killing, Pahal is seen as the one who can take revenge from Tajpuriya’s gang.

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Name: Sunil Rathi, 41

Status: Presently in Delhi’s Mandoli jail

Crime: Over 30 serious cases of triple murder, double murder, gangwar inside jail, attempt to murder, extortion, and firing

Main rival/s: Multiple gangs in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are among his rivals. In Delhi, rivalry with Gogi gang

Networking and association: Rathi’s gang is primarily active in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and has been working with Tajpuriya, Naveen Bali, Neeraj Bawana among others.

Criminal life at a glance: Rathi was born in Tikri village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat. He stepped into the world of crime after the murder of his father Naresh Rathi, the then chairman of Tikri Nagar panchayat, and brother (his identity could not be ascertained) in 1998, allegedly by their political rival Sompal Rathi of the same village. Since then, over a dozen people have been killed from both the sides. After completing his intermediate from Meerut, Rathi involved himself in criminal activities in Uttarakhand, especially in Roorkee and Haridwar. He formed a gang and started targeting doctors and businessman for extortion. On July 9, 2018, Rathi allegedly shot dead UP’s dreaded gangster Prem Prakash Singh, better known as Munna Bajrangi, inside Baghpat jail. Rathi in his statement told the police that Bajrangi had offensively called him fat because of which he felt humiliated and pumped several bullets into his body. In July 2002, Rathi and his three associates allegedly shot dead three employees of a car showroom in Delhi’s Okhla Phase-3 during a robbery of a locker containing ₹75,000. Rathi has been allegedly running his extortion ring from jail and also helping his gangster friends in their gang wars.

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Name: Neeraj Shehrawat alias Neeraj Bawana, 32

Status: Presently lodged in Tihar jail

Crime: More than three dozen cases of murder, extortion and land grabbing

Main rival/s: His main rival is the Rajesh Bawana gang. He supported Tajpuriya gang, which is why he is also considered a rival of Gogi gang.

Networking and association: Bawana’s gang is having association with Tajpuriya’s group and with Uttar Pradesh’s Sunil Rathi’s gang, Naveen Bali and Kaushal gang.

Criminal life at a glance: Till his arrest in 2015, Bawana was considered one of Delhi’s most feared and wanted gangsters, who terrorised businessmen and realtors with extortion demands and was involved in land grabbing. Bawana considered fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim as his model. During 2008-09, he spent a few months with Fazal-ul-Rehman, a close aide of Dawood, in Tihar jail and the latter persuaded him to start extortion. After his release from the jail, Bawana developed a formidable syndicate with its tentacles spread across various states. His gang included desperate criminals and gangsters such as Naveen alias Bali, Amit Bhura, Sunil Rathi and many others. Over the years, as he rose in the hierarchy of the crime world, he befriended, way laid and killed many gangsters and local criminals in Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Even after Bawana was arrested in 2015, he is allegedly continuing his extortion business with the help of his key aides like Tajpuriya, Rathi and Bali.

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Name: Naveen Dabas, better known as Naveen Bali

Age: 30

Status: Presently in Delhi’s Mandoli jail

Crime: More than 20 cases of murder, extortion and robbery. Also booked under MCOCA.

Rivalry: Has been in rivalry with Rajesh Bawana gang. Has been supporting Neeraj Bawana’s Tajpuriya’s gangs and because of that he is also considered an enemy of Gogi gang.

Networking and association: Bali’s gang is having association with Tajpuriya’s group and with Uttar Pradesh’s Sunil Rathi’s gang, and Kaushal gang.

Criminal life at a glance: Born to a farmer in Sultanpur Dabas village near Bawana in outer Delhi, Bali dropped out of school and joined wrestling training at Chhatrashal stadium. Within three years, he became a professional wrestler and participated in national competitions. During that period, he came in contact with Neeraj Bawana, and began criminal activities in 2006. After being in jail twice, Bali and his associates tried to kill gangster-turned-politician Krishan Pehalwan, and committed a double murder, both in 2008. Thereafter, Bali along with Neeraj Bawana got involved in extortion, murder, and kidnapping, till they both were arrested in 2015. Bali has been supporting Tajpuriya, and he is also a suspect in the murder conspiracy of Gogi. Recently, a video of Bali and another jailed criminal having liquor party in a police office in Delhi was circulated on social media.

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Name: Kuldeep Maan alias Fajja, 29

Status: Killed in shootout at Tulsi apartment in Rohini

Crime: More than nine cases of murder, extortion attempt to murder and robbery.

Main rival/s: Was in rivalry with Tajpuriya’s gangs

Networking and association: Fajja was the key hitman of gangster Gogi (also dead) and was having association with Kala Jatheri, Lawrence Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra

Criminal life at a glance: Born in 1992, Fajja is a resident of Naya Bans in outer Delhi’s Narela. After completing his schooling, Fajja got admission in Kirori Mal College in Delhi University. He opted Botany (honours). In 2012, he fell in the bad company and assaulted a person because of which a case was registered. In 2015, he and his associates robbed an i-20 car and committed a murder the same year but was arrested. Fajja later joined Gogi’s gang and began committing crimes with him. He was arrested with Gogi and two others from a Gurugram flat in 2020. In March this year, Fajja fled from the police custody after a sensational shootout that took place at GTB hospital between his associates and the police party that was escorting him back to jail van after his visit to the surgery ward for a medical check-up. One assailant was gunned down and another was injured by the police. Three days after his escape, the special cell team traced him to a flat in Tulsi Apartment in Rohini, where he was gunned down during a gunbattle.