Gangsters are alive and kicking, and giving a tough time to the Punjab Police, which has killed many of them during the last one decade.
Gurshahid Singh Pawar, alias Shera, was shot dead by the police on September 6, 2012. He was the son of a Milkfed employee. He belonged to Khubban village in Fazilka and studied in Khalsa College, Ferozepur, and SGGS College in Chandigarh. He had cleared IELTS and was planning to go to New Zealand when a meeting with gangster Jaipal Singh Bhullar changed his life.
Shera’s police encounter had only sparked a gang war as gangsters Jaipal Bhullar and Vicky Gounder suspected that rival Sukha Kahlawan and Jaswinder Singh Rocky had tipped the police about the last location of Shera in a densely populated Bathinda locality where he was with a woman when shot dead in a dramatic manner.
Shera and Bhullar were two hammer throwers, the latter being an ex-junior national champion, and they had met at a sports event. Bhullar, son of a Punjab Police sub-inspector, was an undergraduate from Ferozepur. He had been leading a highway gang along with Chandu, alias Chand Miyaan, since 2004 and roped Shera in. Bhullar was untouchable until he shot dead two cops from CIA Jagraon of Ludhiana rural police — ASI Bhagwan Singh and ASI Dalwinderjit Singh on May 15, 2021. The Punjab Police followed Bhullar to Kolkata and killed him in an encounter along with his aide Jassi Kharar at a residential complex on June 9, 2021.
Gangster Jaswinder, along with fellow villagers Kulwinder Singh and Nahar Singh, had escaped from police custody on April 23, 2013, after snatching a self-loading rifle (SLR) of cops accompanying them. They had also crossed the line and killed a head constable before fleeing.
Kulwinder and Nahar were killed in an encounter at Behniwal village in Mansa on April 27, 2013. The police had recovered the snatched SLR and a pistol from them.
Gangster Ajay, alias Kannu Chhikara, was booked in several cases, including those of attempt to murder, robbery and snatching. In many of these cases, he had been acquitted. He was jailed for a year under an Arms Act case lodged on September 27, 2009. His countdown started after he shot dead Army Major Sushil Chikkara’s father Jagbir Singh, 57, and younger brother Anil, 25, on May 12, 2016. The family has alleged the two were killed because they had not voted for the gangster’s brother Sanjay Chhikara who was contesting for the sarpanch’s post and had lost.
Kannu Chhikara was surrounded at Jagaram Tirath in Talwandi Sabo on June 2, 2016. The encounter began at 9.20 am and continued for 45 minutes. At least 35 to 40 rounds were fired. Kannu was shot twice in the stomach. His four accomplices were arrested.
In 2010, when Davinder Bambiha was doing Bachelor of Arts, his name cropped up in a murder case which took place during a scuffle between two groups at his village. He was arrested and sent to jail where he came into contact with several gangsters. Bambiha formed his gang at the age of 21 after escaping from jail. He was named in half a dozen murder cases. He was booked in attempt to murder cases, loot, snatching, and under the provisions of the Arms Act. He was among the most wanted gangsters of the state from 2012 till his death in 2016.
Bambiha was killed in a Punjab Police encounter on September 9, 2016, at the age of 26 at Gill Kalan near Rampura in Bathinda district. He died but not his gang. There are over half a dozen associates and friends of Bambiha, including some based abroad and some lodged in jail in Punjab, who are running this gang now. Among those who are running the Bambiha gang are Armenia-based Lucky Gaurav Patiala. The allegations around the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala highlighted the ongoing rivalry between Bishnoi and Bambiha gangs. They have been killing members of each other as well as people associated with them.
Gangster Harjinder Singh Bhullar, known as Vicky Gounder, who was among six inmates who had escaped from Nabha jail in November 2016, was killed in an encounter at a village in Rajasthan on the border with Punjab along with accomplice Prema Lahoria, the Punjab Police said on January 26, 2018. Gounder was among first gangsters who allegedly formed association with Khalistani militants Harminder Singh Mintoo and Kashmir Singh. It started a new stream of gangsters under the influence of Khalistani militants and it raised eyebrows of the Punjab Police. Sources said that Vicky Gounder could have been alive had he remained just a gangster and had not formed association with Khalistanis.
Faced a number of cases, including highway robbery in Punjab and several cases in Haryana and Rajasthan as well, as an athlete, Gounder had won three gold and two silver medals in discuss throw at the national level. He shot into the limelight after he killed rival gangster Sukha Kahlwan in police custody when Kahlwan was travelling with a police party for a court hearing.
Ankit Bhadu, a resident of Fazilka in Punjab, was born into a farming family and had dropped out of school. Bhadu was involved in numerous cases of extortion and murder in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and other neighbouring states. Bhadu was only 25 years old, but he had more than 18 criminal cases registered against him. These included four cases of murder and 15 related to robbery and extortion. In 2019, the police received intelligence that he used to visit Chandigarh’s Sector 32 to meet his girlfriend. According to the information available, his girlfriend was previously in a relationship with a notorious criminal from Punjab and lived in an apartment in Chandigarh. When the Chandigarh intelligence team recorded a conversation between Bhadu and the woman, the voice was confirmed to be his. Following this, his mobile location was tracked and placed under surveillance. Just a day before the encounter, on February 7, 2019, the Rajasthan Police had increased the reward on him from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh.
Jagroop Singh, alias Roopa, and Manpreet Singh, alias Manu Kusa, who were involved in the high-profile murder of Punjabi singer and politician Sidhu Moosewala on May 29, were killed in a four-hour encounter on July 20. They were holed up in an abandoned building of the village, situated around 14 km from the India-Pakistan border. Roopa was facing 17 criminal cases and Manu was named in 15 cases across Punjab.
Vir Chakra winner Sajjan Singh Mann’s grandson gangster Gurmeet Singh Mann, alias Kala Dhanaula, began his political career with the Shiromani Akali Dal. In 2009, his mother became president of the Dhanoa Municipal Council in Barnala, representing the Akali Dal. After his mother took office, her son too entered politics. At that time, the Akali Dal was in power in Punjab, and the party had strong influence in the Malwa region.
Kala Dhanoa became known in the Barnala-Sangrur area for mediating local disputes. Stories about him settling people’s issues gained attention, and residents from both districts began approaching him for help. Dhanoa assisted many families in his area. By 2012, people preferred going to his house instead of the police. He would make both parties sit down and resolve their disputes.
Dhanoa was around 45 years old. He was a close associate of Rocky Fazilka, one of Punjab’s most notorious gangsters. By 2012, nearly 40 cases had been registered against Dhanoa. However, he had returned to public life. He had given many interviews in which he blamed politicians for pushing youth like him to become a gangster. His police encounter on February 19, 2024, had come as a shock to many as he had been in public life for long.
The Punjab Police had claimed that three gangsters Bunty Dhillon, Jaspreet Jumpy and Nishan Singh had committed suicide at Asakhera village in Sirsa district in Haryana after the Punjab Police had encircled them on June 13, 2017.
On March 3, 2019, the Haryana Police killed gangster Jagsir Sira of Bhekan village, Bagha Purana (Moga) in an encounter on Dabwali-Chautala Road. He was fleeing in a Fortuner vehicle belonging to Karan Chawla, son of district president of Jannayak Janata Party, Amir Chawla. He was wanted in 35 cases by the police in Punjab and Haryana.
Punjab police (Representative image/File) 
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