Named as a co-accused in the Ambala Cantonment shootout that left two dead on January 20, gangster Virender Pratap, alias Kala Rana, was arrested in Thailand a couple of weeks ago, police said.
Rana is involved in at least 30 other cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and criminal intimidation across Haryana, and has been declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in several of them. He is said to have fled abroad after he secured bail in 2017.
Rana was arrested after key inputs were shared by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Haryana Police with the central security agencies, said a senior IPS officer on the condition of anonymity.
“The gangster was arrested between January 15 and 20 in Thailand by the local police. As per details shared by the agencies, some other documentation is in process and he will be soon deported to India. But, it is still uncertain who will take him into custody first, as he is also wanted by the Delhi Police,” the officer cited above said.
According to sources, Rana belongs to Aungad village in Karnal, where his family was engaged in farming before moving to Yamunanagar due to a violent feud several decades ago that left one person dead.
{{/usCountry}}According to sources, Rana belongs to Aungad village in Karnal, where his family was engaged in farming before moving to Yamunanagar due to a violent feud several decades ago that left one person dead.
{{/usCountry}}“He moved with his parents and two siblings (brother-sister) to start afresh with a business but later got involved in criminal activities. His brother Surya Pratap, alias Noni Rana, is also lodged in jail,” said a person privy to the matter.
Rana is also accused in several cases in Rajasthan, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi, but most FIRs (around 20) have been lodged against him in Yamunanagar.
What led to his arrest
With the arrest and deportation of gangster Raju Basodi, an aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, from Thailand in February 2020, the STF gained key inputs about Rana’s location.
The police officer quoted above said that through a cyber cell, his location was traced to Pattaya City after he made an extortion call from a Central Asian number.
“It was also found that he used fake identification and a fake passport to flee to Thailand. Later, a case was lodged in Fatehabad in 2020 related to this and in August 2021, RCN and LOC were issued against him,” he added.
Besides Bishnoi, Rana has also worked with Shamsher Singh, alias Monu Rana, who is also an accused in the Ambala Cantonment shootout, and Sandeep, alias Kala Jatheri, of Sonepat. All three are currently lodged in jail.
Ambala shootout link
Kala Rana and Monu Rana’s role is being probed for ordering the hit on gangster Bhupi Rana’s aide Mohit Rana, who along with his friend Vishal, alias Bhola, were killed in the shootout at Ambala Cantonment.
According to Ambala SP Jashandeep Singh, the shootout was the fallout of a gang war between Kala Rana and Bhupi Rana gangs that started after the murder of Bhupi’s associate Mohammad Mushtaq in 2014, in which Mohit was a prime witness. Later, Monu and Kala was among those convicted.
“Though Mohit had taken ₹12.5 lakh from Kala and Monu for not testifying against the gang members in court, several were convicted. The gang had asked Mohit to return the money, but he didn’t that led to the murder,” Randhawa had said.
Other than the 2014 case, Kala was last year named in the murder of a Yamunanagar businessman, Raghunath Prajapati, in which gangster Sandeep, alias Kala Jatheri, confessed to his involvement. He has also been booked for threatening CIA-1 in-charge of the Yamunanagar police in December last year.