Making of a gangster: Life and crimes of Tillu Tajpuriya

The beginning

The younger son of an MCD clerk and brother of a DTC bus driver, Tillu was raised in a humble family. Sitting in front of a wall covered by photos, gold medals and awards of Tillu during his wrestling days, his father Jagpal Singh recalled that the family thought their son would bring them laurels.

“No one knows how and why he suddenly switched tracks from a promising career… Tillu was undoubtedly aggressive, which he used to channelise in the sport and knock out his competitors but once his name cropped up in heinous offences, we lost hope in him… After his arrest in 2016, my elder son Anil and my wife used to stay in touch with him, but I snapped all ties… he brought disrepute to the family,” said Singh.

According to senior Delhi Police officers, all it took was a college election in 2013 and a subsequent fight over dominance and muscle power with his childhood friend and life-long rival Jitender Mann alias Gogi, for Tillu to change gears.

He and Gogi were BA students at Delhi University’s Swami Shraddhanand College in Alipur. Their friendship fractured during the college’s student union elections, as they were supporting different candidates from their native villages.

“In one instance, Tillu’s aides assaulted a few supporters of the candidate Gogi was supporting, due to which the latter withdrew from the election. Tillu’s candidate won the election — but it gave birth to a violent rivalry between the two,” a senior officer said.

The subsequent years saw a bloodbath where both Gogi and Tillu, each leading their own gangs, shot each other’s gang members without any fear or favour in broad daylight.

In 2015, Gogi and his associates allegedly shot dead Deepak alias Raju, a close aide of Tillu, after the former got a whiff that Deepak was in a relationship with his cousin and showing off by calling himself the ‘damaa (brother-in-law) of Alipur’ — Gogi’s village.

Said an officer: “Tillu was upset and allegedly went on a killing spree to avenge Deepak’s death. Tillu’s aides allegedly killed Arun alias Commando, an associate of Gogi. In retaliation, Gogi allegedly shot dead Tillu’s associate Ravi Bhardwaj. He also killed folk singer Harshita Dahiya, a witness in a case where Gogi’s aide Dinesh Karala was named an accused.”

Police said Tillu also allegedly threatened witnesses in the case and even killed two-three court witnesses who tried to testify against him.

“Apart from baying for each other’s blood, the Tillu-Gogi rivalry extended much beyond to the amount of land owned by them in Outer Delhi, how expensive their vehicles were, the kind of weapons they used to smuggle in from abroad, the amount of money they could extort from local businessmen… It became a battle of pride,” said an officer.

One of Tillu’s childhood friends and a close associate, who is currently out on bail, requesting anonymity, said once Tillu took to crime, his life’s primary objective became the death of Gogi. “During their college days, Gogi and Tillu used to stay and eat at each other’s house most of the time… Tillu considered Gogi’s two sisters as his own siblings and was very protective of them,” he said.

Jail no bar

As per Tillu’s dossier, he had been involved in over 14 cases and was also booked under MCOC Act. “He has a trigger-happy personality and has been involved in the most heinous killings that were done in broad daylight,” his dossier stated.

He was serving a life term in one of the cases, was convicted in another, and was acquitted in another case as the witness turned hostile. Around nine cases against him were pending trial.

Even after his arrest in 2016, Tillu continued leading his gang by allegedly smuggling in money and phones. Police records show his active involvement in over nine cases of murder, Arms Act, attempted murder and extortion since his jail time. “He used apps like Signal and WhatsApp to communicate with his associates. Jail officials also recovered internet dongles, SIM cards and knives from his cell. He would give these items to other inmates…,” said an officer.

Locals of Tajpur Kalan said that the village’s youth acted as fresh ground for Tillu to recruit members of his gang, “the sort who would either kill or get killed for their leader”.

Said a villager: “They consider him an icon who is taking the village’s legacy forward… the youngsters are fascinated by Tillu’s world of guns and dominance, and leave the village in their mid-20s… their parents don’t have a say.”

Apart from his village, he also looked to hire fresh members from prison. “As most of his associates were in jail or were dead, Tillu kept expanding his network to neighbouring states and forged alliances with rival gang members. He also ran extortion rackets and ordered hit jobs from jail,” said the officer.

Downfall

Around 2017, the turf war between Gogi and Tillu extended further when the former forged an alliance with Lawrence Bishnoi, who was close associates with Dubai-based gangster Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi, and Goldy Brar in Canada. On Tillu’s side were Neeraj Bawana, Punjab’s Bambiha gang, Kaushal gang and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.

Officers from the Special Cell said Tillu always went out of his way to prove he was better than others in his area: “Everyone knows Bishnoi-Brar-Gogi created terror in and around Delhi for years. Nobody wanted to go against them. They had the money and resources to hide in foreign countries and operate gangs. Tillu didn’t like this. However, nobody paid heed to him or his activities — until the Rohini court shootout.”

In December 2021, Gogi was inside Rohini court for a hearing when two assailants dressed as lawyers fired at him, killing him on the spot. Police inside the court immediately gunned down the assailants. They later released a statement saying it was Tillu who “orchestrated” the murder from inside.

Mandoli Jail

The chargesheet in the case mentions it was a 60-day intensive plan — choosing assailants, teaching them about court working, arranging money, conducting a recce in Delhi and Panipat court and getting weapons from Murthal.

“Tillu killed the head of an organised crime syndicate that was running for more than two decades… He had caught the biggest fish in the sea, bigger than he could afford to take on. The shootout irked Brar and other gang heads. Gangsters like Bishnoi and Deepak Boxer wanted him dead. Due to this, Tillu wouldn’t apply (for parole) to go home…,” said an officer from the Special Cell. Rival gangsters soon found their chance to take him down.

Tillu had been shifted from Mandoli to Tihar’s jail no. 8 on April 22 due to security reasons, as per DG Prisons Sanjay Beniwal’s office. Within 10 days, Gogi’s men, gangsters Deepak Titar and Yogesh Tunda, roped in two inmates, Riyaz Khan and Rajesh, to kill Tillu.

CCTV videos show the men climbing down 10-12 feet from the first floor, pulling out Tillu from a cell he tries to hide in, and stabbing him repeatedly with improvised weapons made of exhaust fan and utensil pieces.

Additional DCP (West) Akshat Kaushal had said jail officials intervened within 5-6 minutes. However, videos show them standing as mute spectators in the common room where the accused stabbed Tillu again after he had been pulled out from the barracks.

“They did this because they wanted to make sure he was dead,” said an officer.

The nature of the crime revealed the anger of the gang leaders — doctors said he was stabbed more than 90 times, and most of the injuries were on his head and face.

Brar, who is now among the most wanted gangsters in India and in Canada, posted a message on Facebook on the day of the murder, saying: “Tillu had taken responsibility for the murder of Gogi Mann bhai and he has been our enemy from the beginning. Today, brothers from the Gogi group have made us all proud by taking revenge. Others, who are still alive, are next…”

After news of Tillu’s murder, his gang members and supporters rushed to his home to “pay respect to their leader”. A few of his supporters told the media: “We will not sit quietly, we will exact our revenge soon.”

Lying on a charpoy in the courtyard of his house, Tillu’s father said: “The day my son chose the wrong path, I knew he was playing with fire and would get burnt… no one comes out alive in this fight.”