Journalism of Courage
One of Delhi’s most-wanted criminals, Neeraj Bawana alias Bawania, who has more than 40 cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion against him, was arrested Tuesday morning after an encounter with the Delhi Police’s Special Cell in Qammaruddin Nagar of Mundka.
A Delhi Court has sent Bawana to four-day custody as the Delhi Police wanted to take him to Kolkata, Mumbai and Rajasthan to unearth the larger conspiracy involving his gang.
[related-post]
Special commissioner of police (special cell), S N Shrivastava, said, “We had received specific information that Bawana would come to Qammaruddin Nagar to meet his family members. A trap was laid and we intercepted the white Hyundai Verna he was driving. We overpowered him and his associate, identified as Mohammed Rashid Khan alias Guddu, following a brief exchange of gunfire. Guddu was also arrested.”
Bawana allegedly targeted people in specific areas such as bookies from Rohini and Rajouri Garden, realtors from Najafgarh and Outer Delhi and businessmen with factories in Bawana industrial area and Bahadurgarh. “Bawana, who was once carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh, made extortion calls to 19 businessmen who own factories in the Bawana Industrial Area in 2012, but only five cases were registered against him,” an officer said.
Bawana’s brother Rajesh was arrested last year, while his mother and another brother, Pankaj, were recently arrested from IGI Airport for allegedly carrying illegal ammunition. “Bawana’s gang had allegedly played a part in the escape of Amit alias Bhura, who was freed from the custody of Uttarakhand Police while he was being produced at Baghpat court. Bhura was arrested a few days ago by Patiala police,” a senior police officer said, adding that in 2014, Bawana fled Delhi and stayed in the house of a Baghpat-based criminal.
Bawana was a “ghostly figure” for police as neither he nor those around him used cell phones. “Our teams tasked with tracking this criminal questioned scores of victims, associates, and sympathisers and realised over a period of time that Neeraj was, to almost all of them, an enigma,” DCP (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.
Bawana had become a prize for the police as he repeatedly gave them the slip, though around 35 of his gang members had been arrested. Bawana claimed the top spot in Delhi’s underworld after his friend-turned-rival, Neetu Daboda, the-then reigning gangster of Delhi, was killed in an encounter on October 26, 2013. He requested for parole after informing a city court that his wife was not well, but later jumped parole.
After Daboda was killed and his successor Paras alias Goldy and another gangster Rajesh alias Karambeer were arrested, Bawana’s gang established itself as the most dreaded outfit for extortion and contract killings.
