New Delhi: The Counter-Intelligence unit of Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested 12 suspected members of the Lucky Patial-Bambiha-Kaushal gang, a notorious network facing allegations ranging from murder to extortion.
The arrests of the 12 people, all described as wanted for different cases, were made Monday through a multi-state operation — ‘Proactive, Preventive and Preemptive Policing’.
The operation was led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rahul Vikram along with inspectors Vikram Dahiya and Sandeep Kumar.
“The Lucky Patial-Bambiha-Kaushal alliance has been behind sensational organised crimes in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chandigarh, apart from having significant footprints in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Manishi Chandra said.
Of the three, Patial is based in Armenia, Delhi Police sources said citing intelligence inputs. While Davinder Bambiha was killed in an encounter in 2016, Kaushal is in police custody.
The gang allegedly partnered with jailed gangsters Sunil alias Tillu Tajpuria, accused in the murder of gangster Jitender Gogi in a Delhi court last year, and Neeraj Sehrawat alias Bawania, and were looking to expand their network and operations to Delhi-NCR.
This gang has been active for the last 7-8 years, said Chandra.
“The alliance, after killing Jitender Gogi, turned its attention towards Punjab and executed the gruesome murder of international kabaddi player and UK resident namely Sandeep Singh Sandhu on 14 March in Punjab,” Chandra added.
“Kaushal, apart from others, was subsequently arrested by Punjab Police for conspiracy.”
Sources said the 12 men arrested Monday face multiple cases of extortion and under the Arms Act, among other charges.
“With these arrests, criminals carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 5,00,000 declared from 4 states have been prevented from carrying out any further strike,” Chandra said.
Those arrested include suspects in the killings of Haryana Congress leader Vikas Chaudhary and Youth Akali Dal leader Vikramjeet Singh alias Vicky Midhu Khera.
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‘Hub-and-spoke’
Describing how the network worked, DCP Chandra said these “criminals didn’t communicate with each other”.
“Investigations by various state police forces based on intelligence found that they operate on a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model. With all the hubs settled offshore, in foreign lands, there was minimal communication of any type between the roaming criminals,” the DCP added.
“Four of them were talking to the ‘hub’ in Armenia, four others with the ‘hub’ in Kazakhstan and the others to the one in Malaysia,” he said.
According to police, the operation to nab the wanted gang members was formulated after a massive data analysis exercise. Sources were deployed, and an intensive analysis of interrogation reports of arrested criminals was carried out to figure out the gang’s reach.
“Intensive analytics led to the deciphering of multiple foreign-based communication and coordination hubs located in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Armenia etc. who were acting as handlers of the criminals on the loose,” the DCP said, adding that “suspected bases at Bengaluru, Nashik, Mohali, Faridabad, Baddi and several locations in Delhi were filtered out”.
Over 40 personnel were deployed for covert surveillance, he added.
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The men arrested
The Delhi Police Special Cell issued brief descriptions of the 12 men arrested, including the cases they face and the duration they were allegedly on the run.
Sajjan Singh: Sajjan alias Bholu, 37, carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh and was on the run for five years, according to police. He allegedly killed Haryana Congress leader Vikas Chaudhary in June 2019 in Faridabad, with his involvement also suspected in the August 2o21 assassination of Youth Akali Dal leader Vikramjeet Singh alias Vicky Midhu Khera in Mohali, Punjab. Delhi Police said he was wanted in 6 cases, and was arrested from Haryana.
Anil Gehlot: Anil alias Latth, 32, was arrested in Gurugram. He carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh. Police said he had been on the run for two years.
He was also allegedly involved in the assasination of Khera with Sajjan Singh.
In March 2021, he also allegedly committed a double murder in Ambala that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. He is wanted in 5 cases.
Ajay alias Lefty: Police said the 20-year-old Ajay is an associate of jailed gangster Bhupi Rana, who was arrested by Panchkula Police in 2018. He is another accused in the killing of Khera.
Ajay is a suspect in another murder case in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, police said, adding that he is altogether wanted in 4 cases.
Tekchand: The 30-year-old carries a cumulative reward of Rs 75,000 and Rs 25,000 and was allegedly on the run for two years. He is wanted in 7 cases, police said.
He is allegedly one of the killers involved in the 2020 Noida Ajnara Le Garden murder case, where two property dealers were shot dead. One of the victims, Dal Chand Sharma, who was shot seven times, belonged to a political family.
Dayachand: Also known as ‘Dealer’, the 30-year-old was allegedly on the run for two years and is another suspect in the 2020 Noida case. He is wanted in 6 cases, police said.
Kailash Dagar: The 29-year-old is allegedly wanted in 5 cases. He carries a reward of Rs 25,000 in Palwal, Haryana, and Rs 5,000 in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan.
Rahul Ram: Rahul alias Sadhu, 24, is wanted in 4 cases, police said. He carries a reward of Rs 5,000 in Rajasthan.
Sachin Chand: Sachin alias Gachnu, 25, was allegedly on the run for 2 years. His involvement is suspected in cases of firing for extortion at the Hari Nagar and Vasant Kunj police stations in Delhi.
DCP Chandra said “Sachin’s role has emerged in the murder of kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Sandhu”. “The same is being further verified,” the DCP added.
Saurabh Mishra: Saurabh alias Mogli, 23, is wanted in 2 cases, police said. According to police, he was on the run for a year.
Kavinder: Also known as Shakti Rana, the 22-year-old is wanted in two cases, police said. According to police, he was the “logistical backbone” of the alliance and supplied weapons, vehicles and arranged shelter for killers. He was also allegedly closely associated with Bambhia.
Sandeep Dagar: The 24-year-old was allegedly on the run for a year and is wanted in 2 cases.
Gulshan Singh: The 26-year-old was on the run for a year and is wanted in two cases, police said.
A total of seven sophisticated firearms and over two dozen live cartridges have been recovered so far by police from the men.
A Delhi Police source said funding for the criminal network “comes from the Punjab pop music industry and sports — kabaddi”.
“These industries are indirectly controlled by these nexuses, which generate a lot of revenue not only in India but also in UK, US, Australia where their handlers are based. Singer Mankirat Aulakh was threatened by the same alliance,” the source added.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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