Gangster who threw chilli powder at Delhi cops nabbed after 29 months in Siliguri

One of the Capital’s most wanted gangsters, who had fled from Delhi Police’s custody in 2018 after his associates allegedly threw chilli powder in the eyes of police

One of the Capital’s most wanted gangsters, who had fled from Delhi Police’s custody in 2018 after his associates allegedly threw chilli powder in the eyes of police personnel and exchanged fire at a government hospital, was arrested from Siliguri in West Bengal on Wednesday ending a 29 month-long search.

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Senior police officers on Thursday said the arrested gangster, Sandeep alias Dhillu, is a key confidant of jailed gangsters Neeraj Bawana, and Sunil alias Tillu Tajpuriya.

Involved in nearly two dozen crimes, including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, and attacking police personnel, Dhillu carried a reward of ₹2 lakh on his arrest. This was the highest reward announced by the Delhi Police on a wanted criminal after the arrest of another gangster Jitender alias Gogi against whom a reward of ₹4 lakh had been declared. According to the police, Dhillu’s group had a longstanding rivalry with Gogi and their enmity allegedly led to several murders in the national capital in the past five-six years. Gogi was caught along with his three associates from an apartment in Gurugram on March 3.

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said several teams had been looking for Dhillu since he fled from police custody in February 2018. He had allegedly shot Gogi’s gang member, Monu Nepali, outside the Rohini court on directions of Tajpuriya (who was in jail) a month after fleeing, the police said.

“Our team was tracking Dhillu’s movements since a long time, but he managed to give the police the slip. To avoid police attention, he had been using the latest communication and social media techniques to talk to his associates,” said Kushwah.

In June, the DCP said, a team had raided his hideout in Rajasthan but Dhillu had escaped before the police could reach the spot. The team continued collecting intelligence about his latest hideouts and on July 5, the team learned about Dhillu’s hideout in Siliguri.

Accordingly, a team was sent to arrest him. “On July 8, our team members spotted him in a market in Siliguri and caught him after a brief scuffle. His transit remand was secured and he has been brought to Delhi,” the DCP said.

Originally from Haryana’s Jhajjar, Dhillu was first arrested in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the case of an attack on a police party and another case of murder and criminal conspiracy. Since then, Dhillu has allegedly been active in criminal activities in Delhi and Haryana, said a special cell officer associated with the operation, asking not to be indentified.

Dhillon was last arrested in 2015 in a murder and assault case, and was lodged in Mandoli jail. On February 19, he was brought to Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences in Central Delhi’s Daryaganj for a dental check-up by police personnel. Around 11.20am that day, Dhillu’s associates arrived on three motorcycles, and allegedly threw chili powder on the personnel, using the cover of the commotion to escort him away from police custody.

An exchange of fire between the personnel and Dhillu’s associates also took place and no one was injured in the incident, which took place barely a kilometre from the then Delhi Police headquarters. The three policemen who were escorting Dhillu were suspended.

“As Dhillu continued his criminal activities after the escape in an organised manner, a case under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was also registered against him,” the DCP said.