Guns and roses: Jailed gangster ties knot with bailed don, under shadow of cops

Sandeep has at least 76 cases of murder, extortion, and kidnapping against him, while Anuradha has a dozen cases of money laundering and criminal intimidation against her

Dressed in a pink sari with silver embroidered flowers on it and with henna on her hands, Anuradha Choudhary (39) got married to her long-time partner Sandeep (39) on Tuesday afternoon, in front of a priest, their close family members, a few friends — and at least 250 armed police personnel.

Sandeep also known as Kala Jatheri weds Anuradha Choudhary also known as Madam Minz at Dwarka Sector 3 in New Delhi on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

At the mandap, decked up with roses and sunflowers, inside Santosh Garden banquet hall in Dwarka Sector-8, as the two concluded their pheras, the elderly sang folk songs, others showered rose petals at the couple, while 20 police personnel, including 10 women cops, in bulletproof jackets, and armed with rifles and body cameras, maintained a poker face.

This was no ordinary wedding.

It not even an intimate Bollywood celebrity wedding or the coming together of two big political or business families. This was the wedding of two of Delhi-NCR’s most notorious gangsters: Sandeep aka Kala Jathedi wed Anuradha aka Madam Minz.

With at least 76 cases of murder, extortion, and kidnapping against him, Sandeep was arrested in 2021. In February this year, his lawyer had applied for custody bail, which was finally approved on March 4 by a Delhi court that awarded him six hours to get married on Tuesday.

A heavily guarded jail van left Tihar Jail — with Sandeep who was wearing a white kurta-pyjama and a floral pink and purple waistcoat and at least 16 police personnel — on Tuesday morning and reached the venue in Dwarka.

Meanwhile, Anuradha drove to the banquet from Jathedi village in Haryana in a Mahindra Scorpio car, along with her family members. She has a dozen cases of money laundering and criminal intimidation against her and is currently out on bail. The two got arrested together from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur in 2021.

“I am happy that my son finally got married... Anuradha is like my own daughter. She has anyway been living us for two years,” said an emotional Kamla Devi, Sandeep’s mother, as she watched the couple complete a phera from behind a row of police personnel.

Sandeep’s tryst with crime started in 2004, when he was arrested in a phone-snatching case. A little after 2012, he joined the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and made it big within two years after he allegedly executed the murder of three rival gangsters in Haryana.

A key member of the gang, Sandeep met Anuradha in 2020 – who by then was a noted gangster in Rajasthan and Bishnoi’s latest recruit. Soon, the two fell in love, said police. In 2021, the couple was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police from Saharanpur.

For the wedding, once Sandeep’s lawyer secured custody bail, his family could book a small lawn where the police could 250 police personnel, their vehicles, weapons, and a few guests. “We paid around ₹51,000 to book the lawn for the entire day,” said Sandeep’s brother Pradeep.

By 7am, the family members arrived to oversee the decorations at the venue and make space for the rituals. Apart from a mandap, a small stage, a seating and a dining area were set up. The police also put up tents to frisk and check each guest.

Since Sandeep and Anuradha’s notoriety precedes them, no loud music, baraat or DJ was allowed. Guests were allowed in only after showing their Aadhaar cards and were not permitted to bring in their phones, earphones or gadgets.

“Sandeep is the true rakhvala (protector) of Jathedi village. He has helped many people and continues to work for everyone. They all wanted to come and bless him, but the police didn’t allow this. We had given names of only 200-300 relatives but many of them forgot to bring their IDs and couldn’t convince the police to let them enter. They were turned away,” said Anup Singh, Sandeep’s paternal uncle.

Busy with rituals, that too under the watchful eyes of the police, the couple barely got time to talk to each other. But as the priest read out the vows, Sandeep and Anuradha were seen smiling and laughing.

Acharya Ajay Pandit, who conducted the ceremony, told HT: “This is not my first wedding around policemen and guns, but it is always unpleasant and weird. I was asked to submit my Aadhaar card three days before the ceremony. I was frisked twice, and all my bags were checked.”

He said the police told him to wrap up the rituals in less than two hours. “Normal weddings are longer. While we did all the rituals properly, it was all done in a hurry. The bride and groom are sweet. I had also officiated Sandeep’s brother’s wedding in 2019, which was also under a lot of security,” said the priest.

Once the rituals were done, the couple took the blessings of the elders, and proceeded to eat the vegetarian feast that had been laid down — golgappa, chaat, chilli potatoes, French fries, butter naan, daal, and paneer.

A member of the catering team, who asked not to be named, said, “We were scared at first but the police presence helped calm our nerves. Two days before the wedding, each one of us was called by the station house officer of Dwarka and asked about our work. We were also frisked and our Aadhaar cards were checked.”

Police used drones to keep a check on the venue and the surroundings.

“We are happy that Anu (Anuradha) will be our daughter-in-law. She is well educated and has an MBA degree and is now planning to study law. We all support her,” said Raj Singh, a family friend.

The family hoped that Sandeep would be let out again on Wednesday for a puja and “grah pravesh” rituals, a Delhi court put a stay on the custody bail and cited “security arrangements for the farmers’ protest” as the reason.

“We are farmers and live a simple life. We are not what the world thinks of us. My brother is already paying the price for everything he has done. Anuradha isn’t a criminal anymore. We wanted him home for two-three days at least. We had decorated the house and my mother had called all our relatives for the grah pravesh but it’s not happening now. We don’t know when the couple will be able to live together,” Sandeep’s brother Pradeep said.

By 4pm, it was time for Sandeep to bid goodbye to his wife and return to Tihar jail. As police escorted the groom to the police van, Anuradha sat with his family. A cavalcade of police cars left with Sandeep, and soon after, the venue was emptied out.