‘Madam Zehar’, partner of gangster Bobby Kabootar, held in drug syndicate bust

While Ali supplied weapons and drugs, Ansari stored drug consignments and helped smuggle them to Hashim Baba and Bishnoi gang members, said police.

Published on: Feb 20, 2026, 04:08:09 IST

By Jignasa Sinha

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New Delhi:A day after police arrested fugitive gangster Mehfooz Ali alias Bobby Kabootar, they arrested his 32-year-old partner for allegedly running a drug syndicate for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Ansari’s previous criminal records and her links to drugs and arms cases are being investigated, said police.

Ali (43) was arrested from the Mahipalpur flyover with his partner, Khushnuma Ansari (32), and their two associates, Mohammad Raji Khan and Shahbaz. Investigators said Ansari is being probed in several drug cases.

Ali had been evading arrest for nearly seven years in various crimes, including December’s double murder in northeast Delhi’s Jafarabad in which two brothers were shot nearly 50 times and killing of 35-year-old businessman, Nadir Shah, outside his gym in Greater Kailash-1 in 2024. He was also named accused in Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala’s murder in 2022.

A senior police officer said, “We found out that Ali never left his locality in the last five years. He was last seen creating a recce in Punjab before Moosewala’s murder. As his name came up in the said case, he moved to Seelampur to hide.” Police added that drugs were also recovered during the operation.

Police said that during this time, he and his partner, now known as ‘Madam Zehar’ started their own drug syndicate. “While Ali supplied weapons and drugs, Ansari stored drug consignments and helped smuggle them to Hashim Baba and Bishnoi gang members. We are yet to get exact details of their operation,” said an officer, adding that Ansari was operating a makeup studio in Seelampur.

Ali and Ansari also worked with arms dealer, Salim Pistol. Ansari’s previous criminal records and her links to drugs and arms cases are being investigated, added the officer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jignasa Sinha
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More

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