Property, water, betting rackets: Delhi's battleground for gangs

The fight for availability of land, water and electricity has over decades snowballed into a fight for supremacy among gangs seeking to control basic yet pricey facilities. In the process, human life has often proved to be cheaper than these amenities.

Property disputes and land grabs are the raison d'être behind gang conflicts in southwest Delhi leading to dozens of killings in the past decade. The north and northeastern parts of the Capital are yet to find solutions for issues like illegal construction and auto thefts, which have given rise to a number of gangs, with juveniles as the main players. In south and southeast Delhi, meanwhile, gangs of pickpocketers and snatchers who ruled the local crime scene a few years ago have now matured into water mafias and gangs operating betting rackets.

In January 2017, a 74-year-old man was brutually shot in southwest Delhi's Najafgarh area. The father of jailed gangster Manjit Mahal was shot in full public view. Cops probing the attack suspect Manjit's rival gang behind the murder. A juvenile member from this rival gang was apprehended earlier this week. More than half of the gang conflicts reported from the area revolve around property disputes.

Police say that these gang conflicts in the area are for control over Delhi's booming real estate market. In southwest Delhi, the rise of these gangs dates back to 1990s, when two men, Kishan Pehalwan and Balraj got into an ugly spat over a disputed 12 acre land.

The spark soon escalated into a blaze which resulted in several killings on both sides. In 2007, following a series of killings, mostly for revenge, Pehalwan gained power as his brother Bharat Singh was elected the Municipal Councillor and then MLA from the Indian National Lok Dal party, the following year.

The majority of these gangs practice a similar modus operandi wherein some of their goons first occupy a piece of land and then the kingpin offers to help the owner recover it. For this, he demands a hefty share of the land's market price.

While "godfathers" of the land crimes, namely Neeraj Bawana, Neetu Dabodia and Manoj Morkheri were already well-known in the area, the new generation which gained fame, were Naveen Khati, Ravinder Bholu, Manjeet Mahal, and Vikas Langarpuria.

Crime is where the money is. If its not a land dispute in south and southeast Delhi, majority of the crimes committed here, be it robbery or murder are majorly carried out to keep the betting rackets running. In many cases, gangs also safeguard families if their sole earner is arrested or sent to jail while committing a crime for the gang.

However, most of the gangsters in the area, who are known for their notoriety, were either held by the police or gunned down by rival gangs. Some of these were, Shakti Naidu — kingpin of the Rs 8 crore Lajpat Nagar heist, Ravi Gangwal, Raju Baba and Ajay Chhotu. While Gangwal and Naidu were jailed before 2014, Baba murdered Chhotu in Tihar after which Chhotu's men allegedly gunned down Baba in public.

Baba was murdered in August 2015, when armed occupants in a white Scorpio car rammed the vehicle into a motorcycle that Raju Ramakant Rao alias Raju Baba, was riding in Greater Kailash area. They then shot him dead on the spot.

The picture, however, varies drastically in the east and northeastern parts of the Capital. The land of illegal construction, these areas have mushroomed gangs led by teenage boys who are in desperate need to get out of their financially and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. With the power of weapon and unexpected inflow of money, these boys regard the gang's membership as a badge of honour. Most of these youths are either out on parole or are history-sheeters.

Considered one of the most dangerous gangs of the Capital, these delinquent teenagers do not think twice before shooting the police. In September 2014, a Delhi Police constable posted at the Jaffrabad police station was shot dead by two assailants in the Maujpur area of northeast Delhi. The attackers also fled with the constable's service pistol.

Officers say that petty criminals over decades have grown into big extortionists from the area and have been controlling gangs involved in motor thefts, which are sent to adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh. With Ghaziabad, Loni and other areas being a stone's throw away, the area has become a safe haven for interstate criminals, a senior officer said.