Gangster held from Mexico helps Delhi cops solve 10 murders

Boxer had fled to Mexico using a forged passport and was brought to India on April 5. Police said that the arrested accomplices facilitated his escape from India and also planned his shift to the USA

The Delhi Police’s special cell on Sunday said that the interrogation of gangster Deepak Pahal alias Boxer, 26, who was arrested from Mexico, has helped police solve nearly two dozen serious criminal cases, including 10 murders, adding that 14 of his accomplices were arrested.

Deepak Boxer is presently lodged in Tihar jail, led gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi’s gang after Gogi was shot dead in a courtroom in Rohini court complex on September 24, 2021. (ANI)

Boxer had fled to Mexico using a forged passport and was brought to India on April 5. Police said that the arrested accomplices facilitated his escape from India and also planned his shift to the USA.

Boxer, who is presently lodged in Tihar jail, led gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi’s gang after Gogi was shot dead in a courtroom in Rohini court complex on September 24, 2021, by two hitmen from the rival gang on the directions of Sunil Baliyan alias Tillu Tajpuria. Tajpuria was stabbed to death on Tuesday (May 2) inside Tihar jail by four Gogi gang members.

The 14 suspects were arrested for a case under charges of extortion and criminal conspiracy, which the special cell registered on March 16. “The case was registered after the anti-terror unit learnt that Boxer and some of his accomplices were making extortion calls to businessmen and that he had fled India in December last year using a fake passport. The passport was under the name of a fake person, Ravi Antil, a resident of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. All of them were arrested over a month,” said special commissioner of police (special cell) HGS Dhaliwal.

Among those arrested were Boxer’s cousin Ravinder Pahal, alias Tola, 21, who played a key role in his escape from India from Kolkata airport; Gavin Grang alias Gavy, 30, from Patiala in Punjab, who scheduled the journey to the US using a “donkey channel”; and Mehfooz Khan alias Bhura, 47, and Mohammad Junaid, 25, both from Moradabad, who helped Boxer procure the fake passport. “Donkey channel” is a phrase used to describe illegally entering countries using touts, agents, traffickers, and others.

Ravinder not only arranged the fake passport for Boxer but was also instrumental in arranging other logistics, including his accommodation in various countries during his scheduled journey to the US via Mexico, Turkey, and Dubai.

The other arrested suspects were identified as Vikram Dahiya, 27, and Rohit alias Moi, 28, from Sonepat in Haryana, Sachin Maan alias Monu, 30, and Sandeep Narwal, 32, both from Karnal in Haryana, Amit Gulati, 31, from Chandigarh, Dinesh Mathur, 35 from Karala in Delhi, Kapil alias Gaurav, 32, from Saharanpur in UP, Vijay Maan alias Kapil, 26, from Alipur, Yogesh alias Tunda, 30, and Ankesh Lakra, 35, from Mundka in Delhi.

Rohit, Vijay, Yogesh, and Ankesh were already in judicial custody when they were arrested in the case. Yogesh is among the four inmates who allegedly brutally stabbed to death Tillu inside Tihar jail on May 2.

The special cell also added forgery, cheating, and sections under the Arms and Passport Acts to the FIR. “Before Boxer departed from India, Ravinder had already taken the same routes – Dubai and Almaty in Kazakhstan – to reach Turkey and arrange accommodation for him. Ravinder was already in Turkey when Boxer reached there in February. After ensuring Boxer’s safe and brief stay in Turkey and scheduling his journey further, Ravinder returned to India,” said a special cell officer, requesting anonymity.

According to the officer, the forged passport that Ravinder used to travel between India and Turkey was made using the same channel, involving people from Punjab and UP.

However, even with all arrangements in place, Boxer could not reach the US because he was caught from Cancun in Mexico following a coordinated operation involving Indian law enforcement agencies, Interpol, the Office of the Legal Attaché of the US Embassy in New Delhi, and Mexican immigration and law enforcement agencies.

“Gavy charged Boxer ₹40 lakh to arrange his safe escape to the US. A member of the donkey channel, who was supposed to ensure Boxer’s arrival and accommodation in the US, was Gavy’s contact,” added the officer.

Ankesh was the alleged mastermind of the double murder case in Mundka and the murder of hotlier-cum-realtor Amit Gupta, both of which happened the same day in Mundka and Burari in August last year. Ankesh planned the killings sitting inside a Delhi jail, police said.

Dhaliwal said that Boxer’s interrogation revealed his involvement in nearly two dozen cases and that he played a key role in Gogi’s escape from police custody in 2016, apart from the escape of Gogi’s key aide Kuldeep Maan alias Fajja, following a shootout with the police team escorting him at GTB hospital in March 2021.

According to the special cell, Gogi’s associate Deepak Bhanja introduced Boxer to him in 2015. Boxer wanted to make his name in the crime world and joined Gogi’s gang but Gogi was arrested in 2016. His associates planned his escape from police custody and Bhanja asked Boxer to assist him in freeing Gogi, to which he agreed. The two, with others, robbed two cars to execute the plan.

“As planned, Boxer, Sanjay Phalla, and Praveen Lara boarded the Haryana Roadways bus in which Gogi was being escorted while others were following the bus in their two cars. When the bus reached Sakol in Bahadurgarh, the two cars intercepted the bus. Mohit Panchi threw red chilli powder in the eyes of the police personnel while Boxer and others snatched their weapons, freeing Gogi and fleeing with him in the robbed cars,” said Dhaliwal.

While aiding Fajja’s escape, after directions from Gogi, Boxer and his associates, including Ankesh, exchanged nearly 20 rounds of fire with Fajja’s police escort team at GTB hospital in March 2021. One assailant, Ravi, died while Ankesh was injured in the firing. Boxer managed to escape with Fajja, who was shot dead three days later in another gunfight with the special cell team at a residential society in Rohini, police said.

“Boxer was also wanted in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case registered by the special cell in 2018, against the organised crime syndicate led by Gogi and his associates. There are nearly 70 cases against the members of this syndicate and its 16 members have been arrested in the MCOCA case. Six charge sheets have already been filed and the case is pending trial. Charges have already been framed against 15 people,” added Dhaliwal.