Burari bloody battle: Delhi gang rivalry began four years back, 14 members killed so far

Gogi gunned down Mukul as he was pursuing a murder case against the gangster. Gogi had killed Mukul’s maternal uncle Deepak alias Raju for having an affair with his cousin.

Ever since Jitender Mann alias Gogi made a daring escape from police custody in July 2016, he is suspected to be involved in at least six murders, including the two by him and his gang on Monday.

Forensic experts investigate the car of one of the gangs involved in a gunbattle in North Delhi's Burari area on Monday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Gogi is most notorious for his enmity with jailed gangster Sunil alias Tillu, but he also shared a rivalry with Mukul, a resident of Alipur’s Tajpur village who was gunned down in north Delhi’s Sant Nagar on Monday morning.

In 2015, Gogi had allegedly killed Mukul’s maternal uncle Deepak alias Raju for having an affair with his cousin. According to MM Oberoi, special commissioner of police (special cell), Mukul had been actively pursuing the murder case and hence was on Gogi’s target.

“Mukul was under such threat that he never moved around without his friends. Even the Mahindra Scorpio car in which he was travelling during the attack on Monday was bulletproof,” said an investigator.

Gogi’s rivalry with Tillu, meanwhile, dates back to 2014 when they lent muscle support to rival candidates in student politics at a college in outer Delhi’s Alipur. Since then, at least 14 members of the two gangs have died in the bloody battle between the two rivals, police said.

The police heaved a sigh of relief when the two gangsters were arrested separately within a spate of a few months in 2015-16. While Sunil alias Tillu continues to be lodged in Sonipat Jail, Gogi had other plans.

In July 2016, Gogi gave police the slip while being taken to a court in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh.

A dozen of his gang members intercepted the Haryana Police, threw chilli powder on policemen and fled with Gogi. He is currently carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head.

On Monday, 26-year-old Gogi was allegedly among the five men who arrived at north Delhi’s Sant Nagar in a Toyota Fortuner and rained bullets on four residents of Alipur’s Tajpur village.

Apart from a passerby woman and a motorcyclist, the attack left dead two men.