‘Lady Don’ of Gogi gang arrested from Hisar

In 2016-17, she met gangster Kapil Maan at a gym. In 2019, when the gangster was arrested for a murder case with Gogi, she helped him. She even claims that they got married at a temple before his arrest

New Delhi

Kajal Khatri (HT)

Police on Tuesday arrested a 29-year-old woman, Kajal Khatri, who is the partner of jailed gangster Kapil Maan and has been running the Gogi gang since his arrest in 2019, in connection with the murder of an airline crew member at his residence in Noida’s Sector 104in January over a rivalry with the Neeraj Bawania gang.

Officers of the crime branch said Khatri was referred to as the “Lady Don” by her gang members. She was arrested from a hotel in Hisar, Haryana, while she was attempting to flee to another city, officers said.

“She was a DU student and had studied from a renowned school in Rohini. However, she dropped out of college in the final year. In 2016-17, she met gangster Kapil Maan at a gym. In 2019, when the gangster was arrested for a murder case with Gogi, she helped him. She even claims that they got married at a temple before his arrest. In 2019-20, Kapil’s father was killed by rival gangsters and she shifted from Delhi to Sonipat for them,” deputy commissioner of police (crime) Satish Kumar said.

In the January incident, Gogi gang members gunned down Suraj Maan, the airline crew member, as the victim’s brother, Parvesh Maan, was linked with Neeraj Bawania gang, police said. They said Khatri coordinated the murder by relaying information between Kapil and the accused.

Police said Khatri met Kapil multiple times in jail and Kapil also mentioned her as his wife in jail records, despite no record of their wedding.

A senior police officer said, “At court (in January 2024), Khatri came to meet Kapil, who instructed her to kill Suraj. Suraj’s brother, Parvesh Maan, is Kapil’s rival and was associated with Neeraj Bawania. Parvesh allegedly killed Kapil’s father and was caught. He is also in Mandoli jail.”

DCP Kumar said that initially, there was no clue about Khatri but her role cropped up during a probe by UP Police. “We found she had been heading the gang since 2019-20 and was behind the murder. She was seen conducting recce and records of her social media chats were also leaked,” an investigator said.

Police said Khatri was also involved in the murder of a Delhi-based businessman at Rohini in 2021. “After Suraj’s murder, she was absconding and was hiding in Delhi-UP-Haryana,” the officer said.

Investigators received a tip last week that she shifted to Kundli and was residing in Kingsbury Flats, TDI City. A team was sent there, but found she fled to Hisar.

“She knew police was behind her and frequently changed her location. She was trying to escape the city but was caught at her hotel,” DCP Kumar said.