New Delhi:
Gangster Himanshu Bhau, wanted in India for multiple murders and organised crime, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States on Friday, sources said.
Himanshu Bhau, a rival of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was on the most-wanted lists of Haryana and Delhi Police. Murders, kidnappings, extortions — a number of cases have been registered against him and his associates spanning from Haryana to Delhi to Uttar Pradesh. The notorious gangster has also had an Interpol notice against him.
According to the police, he obtained a passport using forged documents before leaving India. Reports have also linked him to Portugal, where he is suspected of operating his criminal network, and to gangs associated with Neeraj Bawana and Naveen Bali.
The police have been investigating a series of shootings and murders in the Delhi-NCR region where the Himanshu Bhau gang has figured in suspected links or claims of responsibility on social media. One such case concerns the killing of Vijay Kumar, a gym trainer who was shot dead in south Delhi’s Aya Nagar in September. Police are examining whether the murder was connected to a longstanding rivalry between families in the village and are also verifying a social media post attributed to Bhau that claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to police and the victim’s family, Kumar was inside a gym when some men allegedly called him outside. Two attackers on a motorcycle then opened fire near Hansa Chowk in the Fatehpur Beri area in south Delhi. Police said around 15 rounds were fired around 10 am.
“Vijay Kumar sustained multiple gunshot injuries and later succumbed. An FIR has been registered and multiple teams have been formed to trace and apprehend the accused, who fled the spot. The motive initially seems to arise from personal enmity,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal had said.
A social media post purportedly issued by Bhau subsequently claimed responsibility for the killing and carried a warning in Hindi: “Bhagne se kam nahi chalega field me aao. Bhagne nahi dunga kisi ko (Running away won’t help; come out into the field. I won’t let anyone run away).
The post referred to the “Bhau gang” and included the phrase “Since-2020”, according to police sources.
Earlier this year, 55-year-old dairy businessman Ratan Lohia was shot dead near his home in Aya Nagar, the same locality where the gym trainer’s murder took place. Police sources claimed that more than 60 rounds were fired after the attackers spent several hours conducting reconnaissance in the area.
Family members alleged that Lohia had been killed by Rambir Lohia and his relatives in retaliation for the death of Rambir’s 24-year-old son, Arun, who was shot dead near Chattarpur Metro Station earlier this year.
Police sources also suspected the involvement of gangster Neeraj Faridpuriya in Lohia’s murder and investigated whether the attack had been carried out by shooters based in Haryana. The suspects were believed to have travelled from Faridabad and abandoned their vehicle there, according to the sources.
Four alleged members of the Himanshu Bhau gang were arrested in connection with Lohia’s murder, police sources said.