New Delhi: For two years, Deepak Khatri appeared to have the right credentials for the courtroom—a black robe, a place in Lawrence Bishnoi’s legal team and a role in arranging lawyers for the gang’s associates. But beneath the lawyer’s robe, Delhi Police allege, was a very different line of work: Arms trafficking, extortion and links to a terror module.
Khatri has now been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a senior Delhi Police Crime Branch official said.
The 45-year-old Khatri aka Mama, “has been associated with Bishnoi for over a decade and recently his role in arms smuggling in the country has come to the fore,” said DCP Sanjeev Yadav.
Khatri graduated from the Venkateshwara Group of Institutions, Meerut, in 2024, another officer aware of case said. “He then got a membership to Delhi’s Bar Council and has been practising in several trial courts,” said the official. Prior to that, Khatri allegedly arranged clients, took part in settlements and acted as a liaison for lawyers in the lower courts of Delhi, the officer added.
Bishnoi and Khatri’s association
According to the officers, Khatri’s association with Bishnoi goes back a decade. “While he is yet to say how he got in touch with Bishnoi, it is clear that Khatri’s association with Bishnoi goes beyond his being part of the legal team,” said one of the officers.
Khatri received his legal licence in 2024, however investigators believe that the two have been in cahoots for at least ten years. “Khatri is known to have arranged legal representation for Bishnoi’s associates even before he received his law degree,” he added.
Khatri’s name first came up in police records in a 2023 case investigated by the Special Cell where the complainant had raised allegations of extortion against him. “A complaint was received in 2023 where Khatri was named directly alongside Bishnoi. The complainant had alleged that he was told to pay Khatri Rs 2.5 crore to settle matters with Bishnoi,” said the officer.
How Khatri was nabbed
Khatris’ arrest Wednesday night by the Delhi Police Crime Branch from the Indira Gandhi International airport was in connection with a weapons trafficking case that the department had busted earlier in March.
According to a senior officer, after Bangladesh-based arms supplier Shahbaz Ansari’s arrest, he had claimed that Khatri was liaising the arms deals in the country.
Sources said that on March 13, the Crime Branch received a technical intelligence about an arms trafficking racket and conducted raids across several states. “A total of 18 accused persons were arrested and 32 semi-automatic pistols, 2 sub-machine guns and 363 live cartridges were recovered from the accused persons,” a source said.
During interrogation regarding the case, the police learnt that arms and ammunition were being “collected to create terror among the general public by indiscriminate firing during large public gatherings during certain events”.
Subsequently, the Delhi Police issued a lookout notice in June against the 45-year-old resident of Delhi’s Paschim Vihar in connection with the arms trafficking and terror module.
“He told us that the past few months he had been in Dubai, Morocco and Thailand,” said the officer. When Khatri landed in IGI airport Wednesday, the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch arrested him.
“During interrogation, the accused (Khatri) disclosed that he is involved in the international terror module established and run by Shahbaz Ansari through Harshpal Singh Rubal and Nishant Arora. He also disclosed that he can assist in thorough investigation of the case and help in arresting other involved persons and divulging the modus operandi used by criminals,” the Delhi Police informed the court.
Khatri at present has been sent on a three day police remand where investigators are trying to understand how he met Bishnoi and his role in the gang’s functioning.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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