Gangsters (left to right) Hashim Baba, Lawrence Bishnoi and Rohit Godara
New Delhi:
The names of five criminals infamous for their gang activity have come up in the investigation into the killing of a gym owner in south Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash Part 1. Nadir Shah, 35, an Afghan-origin man, was shot dead on Thursday.
Here’s your 5-point cheat sheet to this big story
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The first is Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail. His gang has over 700 shooters, police sources said, adding many small and big criminals across the country work for him. Lawrence Bishnoi came in the news after Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in his SUV in May 2022. Sources said Lawrence Bishnoi demanded Rs 5 crore from Kunal Chhabra, a business partner of Nadir Shah. Kunal Chhabra ran a large number of illegal call centres in the national capital, sources said. Nadir Shah, allegedly boasting of his connections, told Kunal Chhabra not to pay up. The police also interrogated Lawrence Bishnoi using harsh methods in connection with this case, sources said. This is how Nadir Shah became a target.
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The second is gangster Rohit Godara. He is based in Rajasthan. Rohit Godara, known to be close to Lawrence Bishnoi, came in the news after activist and Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead in Jaipur in December 2023. Rohit Godara lives in the US. Sources said he has been working for Lawrence Bishnoi for a long time, and is known to dial businessmen directly to demand ransom up to Rs 10 crore. He also dialled Nadir Shah on instruction from Lawrence Bishnoi and another gangster, Goldie Brar. Rohit Godara was the one who allegedly planned how the murder would be carried out.
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The third is Randeep, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh. Randeep is believed to be hiding in the US. Rohit Godara allegedly took Randeep’s help in working out the finer details of how to kill the gym owner. Three shooters from Azamgarh have been arrested in this connection.
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The fourth has been identified as Hashim Baba, a gangster from northeast Delhi. He was arrested by the Delhi Police after a shootout in 2020. He has been in jail since then. Hashim Baba first came to the police’s attention in 2007. He later came to be known as the ‘Don of Yamunapar’, and considers actor Sanjay Dutt as a role model, which is why he started keeping long hair. He changed his name to Hashim Baba on the lines of ‘Sanju Baba’, the actor is known by fans. Hashim Baba had sent his aide Shahrukh to check on Sidhu Moose Wala on Lawrence Bishnoi’s order. Hashim Baba, who is in Tihar Jail, allegedly sent his shooters to kill Nadir Shah. Hashim Baba held a grudge against Nadir Shah’s friendship with south Delhi gangsters, Ravi Gangwal and Rohit Chaudhary.
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The fifth is Kunal Chhabra, a resident of west Delhi, who is now living in Dubai. Kunal Chhabra ran a large number of illegal call centres in Delhi, and bribed some policemen and other criminals with monthly payments, sources said. Kunal Chhabra later came in touch with Nadir Shah, who made him stop the monthly payments to small criminals and junior police officers, sources. Nadir Shah then introduced him to some senior police officers and started paying them every month, sources said. When Lawrence Bishnoi dialled Kunal Chhabra to demand Rs 5 crore, his friend Nadir Shah told the jailed gangster payment was not possible. After this, Nadir Shah became a target. The conspiracy to kill the gym owner was planned in jails from Azamgarh to the US to ‘Yamunapar’ to Gujarat and Delhi.
