In joint op, cops gun down 4 members of Bihar's 'Sigma & Company' gang in Delhi

Four gangsters from a Bihar crime syndicate were killed in a shootout with Delhi and Bihar police in Rohini, following a two-day operation.

Four wanted gangsters from a Bihar-based crime syndicate were killed after more than 40 rounds were exchanged in a fierce shoot-out with a joint team of police from Delhi and Bihar in northwest Delhi’s Rohini Sector 32 on Thursday, senior police officers from the two states said.

Delhi Police officials along with forensic team at the spot where four Ranjan Pathak gang members were allegedly killed in encounter at Rohini in New Delhi (Hindustan Times/Sanchit Khanna)

The men, all from Bihar, belonged to a crime syndicate that had dubbed itself “Sigma & Company”, responsible for a string of contract killings and extortion operations across north Bihar.

TThe slain gangsters – Ranjan Pathak, 25, the second-in-command of the group; Bimlesh Mahto, 25; Manish Pathak, 33; and Aman Thakur, 21 – were killed after they were intercepted by a joint team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch and Bihar Police’s Special Task Force (STF).

Officials said the group had been “hiding” in Delhi for several days to “evade arrest”, allegedly plotting fresh attacks ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. A senior Bihar police officer said that the criminals had relatives in Delhi, which is why they decided to flee to Delhi to evade arrest.

According to the police, the gang had been preparing to “spread unrest” through targeted killings and extortion in Sitamarhi, Sheohar, and nearby districts. “They were planning high-profile hits to create fear before the elections,” a senior crime branch officer said. Bihar Police had placed a ₹50,000 reward on Ranjan’s arrest, and ₹25,000 each for the others.

Kumar said that the crime branch received information from Bihar Police on Tuesday that the four were in Delhi. A five-member Bihar Police STF team was already in Delhi tracking them.

“On Wednesday evening, we got CCTV footage in which they were seen riding two motorcycles without helmets in a village near Nangloi,” Delhi joint commissioner of police (crime) Surender Kumar said.

Using technical surveillance, the police tracked their movements to Rohini. Around 2am on Thursday, the team spotted the men in a white Maruti Baleno and followed them.

At 2.20am, police tried to block their path near Bahadur Shah Marg, setting up iron barricades. But as officers ordered them to surrender, the men burst out of the car from all four doors and opened fire, attempting to flee. “Our team fired back in self-defence,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sanjeev Yadav. “All four sustained bullet injuries and were rushed to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, where doctors declared them dead at 3.15am.”

Police recovered four semi-automatic pistols, one country-made gun, and more than two dozen spent shells from the scene. Officers said the gangsters fired at least 25 rounds, while the police responded with 15.

Bihar director general of police Vinay Kumar said that their probe revealed that the group sought to dominate north Bihar’s criminal landscape. Ranjan had been “openly challenging” the police through social media and messages, he said.

Kundan Krishnan, additional director general (ADG, Bihar) said, “We got an audio clip in which Ranjan is heard talking about spreading unrest before the Bihar assembly elections.”

Police are now probing where the group obtained their weapons and how they managed to move freely between Bihar and Delhi despite being on multiple wanted lists.

The shoot-out

The gunfight, investigators said, was the culmination of a two-day operation that spanned multiple cities. Teams from both states scoured CCTV footage, traced digital footprints, and coordinated raids across Delhi-NCR. “They had changed hideouts several times. We found they were staying in rented accommodations using fake IDs,” said an officer involved in the investigation.

By Thursday afternoon, the encounter site near Bawana Road had drawn crowds of locals stunned by the news. The stretch – an isolated road with sparse traffic and no houses nearby – was cordoned off as forensic teams examined the scene.

When HT visited, a white Baleno stood abandoned with all its doors open, its windshield punctured with bullet holes. Blood stains, torn clothing, and scattered footwear were still visible on the asphalt. Nearby, police vans and forensic experts moved quietly between barricades.

Suryaraj, a 50-year-old tea vendor who operates on the stretch, said he had no idea a gun battle had erupted just a few hundred metres away. “I was here till almost 2am serving tea to truckers,” he said. “We didn’t hear a thing. No gunshots, no sirens. Only in the morning did we see the blood and police everywhere.”

Another local, Laxmi Singh, who lives in nearby Jai Chand Colony, said she too was unaware of the gunfire. “Some people said they saw police cars and heard shouting. Four men shot dead – it’s terrifying. Thankfully, we were all inside.”

At Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, doctors said the men were brought in with multiple gunshot wounds and declared dead on arrival. “They had no chance of survival,” said one doctor, requesting anonymity. “Each had at least two bullet injuries."