Ritoli, Rohtak: On a muggy June Sunday, farmer Anil Kumar hopped on his bike and made his way to his field in Ritoli, Rohtak. Within minutes, at least eight gunshots rang out and he lay bleeding on the ground. His five bike-borne assailants had vanished before anyone could stop them. Kumar’s past had caught up with him.
A gang war that began in 2019 is growing bloodier, with four men dead in the past three years. Each time things seem to settle, another revenge killing sets it off again. A pall of fear hangs over Ritoli, about 12 km from Rohtak town.
“Jaan sabko pyaari hai (Everyone values their life). You should leave too,” warned an old man resting beside his horse cart.
Once known for sending boys to the Army, Ritoli is now infamous as the home of two of Haryana’s most feared gangsters. Ankit Baba is said to be calling the shots from Rohtak jail. Himanshu, or Bhau, is believed to be hiding in the US. The feud between the two is Haryana’s version of the Bambiha-Bishnoi rivalry or the Gogi-Tillu fallout. And neither of these kingpins—both fresh-faced, wide-eyed, and only in their 20s—seems short of foot soldiers to carry out their extortion rackets and murders.
“Youth don’t idolise sportspersons or UPSC officers but gangsters after watching films and listening to songs. But what fame lies in becoming gangsters? The result is in front of you,” said 48-year-old Ritoli resident Harinder Singh, sitting with grieving relatives of the slain Anil Kumar.
Rohtak is slowly moving from being the grain bowl to a new centre of gang wars. And Ritoli is a ground zero of sorts for Haryana’s growing gangster problem.Most villagers are aligned with one camp or the other. Of the roughly 5,000 residents, around 500 are named in cases ranging from panchayat land grabs and petty theft to criminal intimidation, extortion, assault, and even attempted murder and murder, according to local police.
The combination of money, machismo, and munitions has turned gangsters into local icons for many young men. Villagers complain that the appeal of a military career has faded since the launch of the Agnipath scheme, which allows only a quarter of recruits to stay on after four years. Landholdings are also small, and few young people see farming as a viable career. In Haryana, as in parts of Punjab, songs featuring guns, Thars, and swagger by artists like Masoom Sharma get millions of views and gang-related crimes keep increasing.
“We describe this phenomenon as ‘hyper-masculine compensation’, where unemployed young men, stripped of traditional provider roles, resort to firearms as symbols of power and respect,” said Dr Aastha Dhingra, a clinical psychologist at Polaris Hospital, Gurugram.
A senior police officer called 47-year-old Kumar’s murder on 1 June “a classic case of gangland retribution”. The unassuming farmer was Baba’s uncle and had recently been released on bail after being accused in a 2022 double murder. The two victims in that case were relatives of Bhau.
Three days later, at 10.30 pm in Delhi’s Rohini Sector-35, a team of the Delhi Police Special Cell acting on a tipoff arrested 23-year-old Deepak Dhankar of Madina village after a shootout. A country-made pistol was also recovered from him. The police said Bhau had commissioned the sharpshooter to kill Kumar. Another accused was arrested on 8 June and police say they have identified the three remaining shooters as well.
These gangs aren’t just neighbourhood operations anymore. Bhau, for one, is allegedly linked to the Bhambhiya group, which includes gangsters like Neeraj Bawana and is considered a rival of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. He’s allegedly shifted operations from Portugal to the UK to the US. The Haryana police has issued red-corner notices against at least 16 gangsters, including Bhau, and efforts are underway to extradite him along with others like Sahil Ritoli of Rohtak and Neeraj Faridpuria of Palwal.
A retired Haryana Police officer who has worked on gang cases told The Print on condition of anonymity that gangs were an especially difficult problem to contain.
“It’s a huge network, a criminal empire built on fear and threats. These aren’t small-time thieves; they carry deadly weapons, have lots of illegal money, and their influence spreads far beyond our district, even across state borders,” he said. “The worst part is that they scare everyone so much that witnesses stay silent, making our job like searching through a fog.”
An Instagram post, posted on the purported handle of Himanshu Bhau, read: “We, Bhau and Neeraj Faridpuria, have got Anil killed because his brother was involved in our brother Bajrang’s murder. Those who are left must know that their time too has come.”
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Divided by gotras—and gangs
Two police officers, sweating in the oppressive heat, stop and check every vehicle entering Ritoli—cars, bikes, even a bullock cart. A PCR van is permanently parked by the canal, a kilometre before the village.
Three days after the murder, the silence in the village was eerie. At 10 am, not a single kirana shop was open. Doors were shut, and most knocks went unanswered.
Villagers like Harinder Singh, who is related to victim Anil Kumar, say the Instagram “warnings” have petrified everyone. The account causing all this unease uses the handle himanshu_bhau_ritoliya. It has a “since 2020” tagline everywhere, as if it’s the founding date of a family business. So far, there are just seven posts, starting 27 May.
One post, uploaded shortly after the murder, read: “We, Bhau and Neeraj Faridpuria, have got Anil killed because his brother was involved in our brother Bajrang’s murder. Those who are left must know that their time too has come. Just wait which dead body will be found in which turn of the street.” This post, seen by ThePrint, is now no longer visible on the profile.
Another is a news clipping of Anil Kumar’s murder, captioned: Murder de badle kai murder. Ek do nahin chhote. Since 2020 (In return for murder, there were many murders, not just one or two small ones). One post is a clip of Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly, speaking about “20 rounds” fired at a Naraina car showroom last September. It’s a reference to an extortion-related incident the Bhau gang took credit for. It’s overlaid with the Punjabi gangster anthem Taskar and the reactions are mostly fire and heart emojis. Ankit’s social media, however, seems to be blocked. One locked Facebook profile claiming to be his says in the ‘about’ section: “Gunday h darling…More info : Ask from CIA And Hr Police.”
People don’t have jobs. The armed forces were always our go-to. Now even that’s a four-year job. We grow wheat, paddy, gram, bajra and some other crops. But those who have just one or two acres of land, agriculture isn’t enough to survive. What else will they do if not go in crimes?
-Sombir, Ritoli resident
While Inspector Rakesh Kumar, the SHO of Shiv Colony Police Station, was out on gasht (patrol), another officer, who declined to be named, said the investigation was underway and the Instagram account was being looked into.
“What someone writes on social media doesn’t affect the direction of the investigation as a third party can always take benefit of the enmity between the two groups and try to fool the police,” he added.
In another part of the village, six men in their 30s sat puffing hookahs and playing cards at the entrance of a house.
“Please don’t involve us in any controversy. Five of us are in the armed forces, home on leave,” one said. He did explain, however, that the village is roughly divided along lines of two Jat gotras, Kaliraman and Singroha. Himanshu Bhau and Ankit Baba both belong to the Singroha gotra.
But the deeper divide in Ritoli is along gang lines. While the Bhau gang has more heft overall, with members in several states, the Baba gang is mostly concentrated in Rohtak, with 25-30 members in Ritoli itself.
Farmer Sombir Singh, 50, claimed young men were turning to crime because there was little else to do.
“People don’t have jobs. The armed forces were always our go-to. Now even that’s a four-year job,” he said. “We grow wheat, paddy, gram, bajra and some other crops. But those who have just one or two acres of land, agriculture isn’t enough to survive. What else will they do if not go in crimes?”
At Anil Kumar’s house, where relatives and neighbours sat mourning in hushed tones, Harinder Singh disagreed. He said it wasn’t poverty but glamour pulling young men into gangs, giving the example of Ankit Baba, who is a distant relative.
“They have 200 bighas of land. They don’t have anything to worry about. But still, this happened,” he said.
The cycle of violence has stacked up over the past decade, from turf wars to tit-for-tat killings to police encounters. Some cases show how crime has seeped into sports and music as well.
Friends, feuds, fugitives
Four doors from Anil’s house is a double-storey concrete building with two balconies and CCTVs watching from the doorway. It’s Ankit Baba’s family home, claimed to be unoccupied since he and his brother Sunny were arrested in March 2022 for the same double murder case in which Anil was also implicated.
A few minutes away is the nondescript home belonging to Himanshu’s family. A boy of around 10 nonchalantly kicks a ball outside but an elderly passerby snaps: “Don’t ask, go!”
Villagers say Himanshu was a studious child who liked playing kabaddi, while Ankit and his brother Sunny were more prone to getting into trouble. A villager, asking not be named, recalled Sunny as a thin teenager, waving around a wooden-handled knife to scare children.
“But he was a joker, not a killer—or so we thought,” he said, smiling nervously.
Growing up, Himanshu and Ankit were close friends but by their mid-teens, both had started drifting toward questionable activities. In 2016, when he was 20, Ankit was booked for assault and intimidation, including provisions of the SC-ST Act. He was released on bail. Meanwhile, Himanshu channelled an entrepreneurial spirit into providing ‘protection’ for a price. It’s this that led to the two becoming sworn enemies.
In 2019, a friend of Ankit’s named Hansraj alias Hanse acquired a bus to run along a rural route. He enlisted Himanshu to “protect” it by riding alongside. But Himanshu wasn’t interested in a bike. He wanted a car. So Hanse took out a loan in Ankit’s family’s name and bought one. When Ankit’s family asked for the car back, Himanshu refused. The friendship soured quickly.
In Haryana’s gangland, the threads of crime weave through generations. The Gen Z gangsters, like Ankit Baba from Ritoli, don’t start fresh—they’re shaped by the shadows of older dons, learning their ways through whispered lessons and blood ties
-Retired Haryana police officer
Things came to a head at Ritoli stadium. When Himanshu fired a gun at Sunny. No one was hurt, but police took Himanshu, 17, to Hisar’s juvenile home. He didn’t stay there long. In October 2020, he and several others cut telephone wires, attacked staff, and escaped. Since then, Himanshu has been named at least 20 cases, including murder and attempted murder, but has stayed out of the grasp of the police.
There have been some close shaves though. One local story goes that in 2021, he stole a trader’s scooter in Jhajjar and painted it red. He then tried to extort money and failed, ending up hiding in a wheat field while police searched for him.
But as both gangs tried to exert power and control, the old feud took a darker turn three years ago. On 2 March 2022, members of Ankit Baba’s gang allegedly shot dead Rohit alias Bajrang, Himanshu’s cousin. Rajender alias Madu, a villager who tried to intervene, was also killed. Anil Kumar is accused of having helped plan that attack.
Five days later, on 7 March, Himanshu’s gang retaliated at Ritoli’s bus stand. Multiple bullets inside a bus killed Hanse.
After that, Himanshu absconded. The police say he fled to Portugal on a fake passport and then went on to the US. But he never left the world of crime in India. His name began appearing alongside bigger players like Neeraj Bawana and Naveen Bali. And he became known for his ‘signature’—a hail of bullets, rather than one or two, for maximum shock and awe.
New faces, old networks
Himanshu Bhau’s name has been linked to some of the most dramatic gangland crimes in recent years, from the Naraina showroom attack to the infamous Burger King murder in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden.
In that case last year, Bhau’s alleged associate, Annu ‘Lady Don’ Dhankar, is accused of luring 26-year-old Aman Joon to the outlet, where he was attacked by three bike-borne men who fired 40 rounds at him. Ankit Baba’s influence hasn’t disappeared either, though he is not seen as operating on the same scale of ambition or notoriety as Himanshu. The Rohtak Police PRO said he had no immediate details of other cases against him.
This Gen Z of Haryana gangland crime is not divorced from those who came before. It’s linked to them through associations, alliances, and even animosities.
“In Haryana’s gangland, the threads of crime weave through generations. The Gen Z gangsters, like Ankit Baba from Ritoli, don’t start fresh—they’re shaped by the shadows of older dons, learning their ways through whispered lessons and blood ties,” said the retired police officer quoted earlier.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is still one of the most expansive, with about 700 members spread across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and even overseas. While Bishnoi himself is in jail, associates like Kala Jathedi, Sampat Nehra, Kala Rana, and Goldy Brar are keeping operations running. Their long-time rivals, the Bhambhiya gang also has intricate underworld connections with the likes of Bhau, Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali, Kapil Sangwan, and Kaushal Choudhary. Bishnoi, even from jail, is linked to the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the 2024 murder of politician Baba Siddique in Mumbai, allegedly coordinating crimes through apps and calls.
The cycle of violence has stacked up over the past decade, from turf wars to tit-for-tat killings to police encounters. Some cases show how crime has seeped into sports and music as well.
In 2022, two such murders stood out. One was the killing of Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab’s Mansa district. Bishnoi aide Goldy Brar claimed it was payback for the death of their associate Vicky Middukhera. Moosewala’s 2020 song Bambiha Bole had also reportedly angered the gang.
The rise of gun culture among India’s youth is a symptom of deeper societal issues, including unemployment, cultural influences, and psychological distress.
-Dr Aastha Dhingra, clinical psychologist
The other was the shooting of international kabaddi player Sandeep Nangal Ambian during a match in Jalandhar. Ambian was reportedly organising a league with gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuriya’s support, while the Bambiha gang wanted him in their corner.
Another high-profile case blurred the line between policing and crime. In 2016, Haryana police shot dead gangster Sandeep Gadoli at a Mumbai airport hotel and labelled it a self-defence killing. He was with model Divya Pahuja at the time. Mumbai police said it was staged and opened a separate investigation. It was alleged that the killing was planned by Gadoli’s jailed rival Binder Gujjar, with help from Pahuja and her mother Sonia. Eight people were arrested, including five Haryana cops. In 2023, Pahuja herself was shot dead in a Gurugram hotel, allegedly by its owner.
Sometimes, the bloodshed leaves entire gangs headless. A long-running feud between the gangs of Delhi’s twin villages of Alipur and Tajpur ended with the deaths of both kingpins — former friends turned enemies, not unlike Bhau and Baba. Jitender Maan alias Gogi was shot dead in Rohini court in 2021 by men dressed as lawyers. A year later, Sunil Tajpuria alias Tillu was murdered inside Tihar jail.
But there’s a certain glamour to it all for some. Last March, for instance, Kala Jathedi, out on parole from Tihar, married fellow gangster Anuradha ‘Madam Minz’, also called ‘Revolver Rani’, under drone surveillance and a 250-cop security cover in Dwarka.
“The rise of gun culture among India’s youth is a symptom of deeper societal issues, including unemployment, cultural influences, and psychological distress. By addressing these root causes through comprehensive policies and community engagement, there’s hope for steering the youth towards a more secure and constructive future,” said Dhingra.
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Targeting both guns and glory
With the spike in gang violence, the Haryana government is cracking down not just on the crimes but on the culture around them. The courts are also raising an alarm about the “widespread nature of this malady”.
On 27 May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court noted the absence of a law like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to combat organised crime. It directed both state governments to implement an action plan within two months. This includes forming new Anti-Gangster Task Forces (ATFs) and Special Task Forces (STF), regular communication with other states and agencies, using forensics for asset seizures, and ensuring witness protection under a 2024 amendment.
In the Haryana assembly this March, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that from 2020 to 2024, the Special Task Force arrested 1,997 people linked to organised crime. This included 542 most-wanted criminals and 256 gang members.
In this period, the STF also recovered hundreds of illegal weapons, including 217 pistols, 7 revolvers, 272 country-made guns, 47 magazines, and over 2,000 cartridges. Lookout circulars are active against 35 suspected gang members, and red-corner notices have been issued for 16, including Himanshu Bhau.
“We have special teams working with other states and central agencies to hit back hard. You’re not just arresting one criminal; you’re trying to take down a whole criminal empire, step by step. We’re fighting hard to bring some peace back to these frightened villages,” said the retired IPS officer.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Crime Branch has been pulling down several Haryanvi songs by popular singers like Narender Bhagana and Masoom Sharma from YouTube for glorifying guns and gang life, including hits like Tution Badmashi Ka, 60 Mukadme, and Ek Khatola Jail Ke Bhittar. The pulled down songs had collectively gained over 100 million views on YouTube.
Police are also monitoring social media accounts that like or share gangster content. In parts of Jhajjar, teenagers identified as gang “fans” are being sent for counselling.
Earlier, former gangsters told ThePrint they recruit boys aged 12 to 16, many already influenced by music and the heft of gangsters. It starts with small cash and car rides for courier jobs, then ramps up. Gangs favour minors because even if caught, they rarely spend more than a few months in juvenile homes.
Back in Ritoli, a bright scorching sun has made its way to the overcast sky. A PCR van rolls through, a water supply worker diverts pipes from one soaked corner to another, a lone woman guides her buffalo through deserted lanes, the doors stay shut. A woman in Haryanvi dress peeks from a window, then hides.
Among the mourners at Anil Kumar’s house, some whisper their fears aloud.
“Some say Himanshu outsmarted the police and sneaked into Rohtak months ago,” said a man in his 40s.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)