Special task force’s first catch: Four members of Mahal gang

GURUGRAM: Newly constituted special task force (STF) has arrested four members of the Manjeet Mahal gang, reportedly while on their way to kill a member of a rival gang. They have also recovered weapons from them. This is the STF's first big catch, since it was reconstituted earlier this month.
Police said the gangsters were on their way to attack and kill a member of the Jyoti Nandu gang, who was in Jhajjar at the time.

The sharp shooters arrested — Sachin of Dadanpur in Jhajjar, Deepak of Kharhar, Abhishek of Bahadurgarh and Uttam of Majikpur in Jhajjar — were on their way to Jhajjar when they ran into the cops.

Police said they received a tip-off that the four were going from Khugai to Jhajjar, via the Sukharpur route, on a white bike without any registration number, and were armed. The STF team reached Sukharpur road towards Jhajjar town, and had just set up a barricade on the by-pass road near Sukharpur village, when the motorcycle with the four men were spotted.

Police said once they realised they had been cornered, the four tried to run down the cops with their bikes. One of the shooters fired on the cops while seated on the back of the bike as it crossed the barricade, and they sped away. No one was injured.

The STF team gave them the chase and eventually caught up with them. Police said they recovered four pistols and 20 bullets from the criminals. The motorbike has also been recovered.

A case has been registered against the four at Jhajjar police station, under sections 186 (obstructing a public servant from discharge of duties), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty) and 307 (attempt to murder).

Since then, the four have apparently confessed that they are members of the Manjeet Mahal gang, that they have been involved in four other cases, including one of murder. They confessed to looting a Swift Dzire car on November 15, 2017 and to have murdered a Najafgarh resident called Deepak on January 11. They also confessed to have murdered Dharmender, a resident of Kharhar in Jhajjar, in August 2015.

The two gangs have been at loggerheads for years, and have been active even while their kingpins are lodged in separate jails.

While Jyoti alias Nandu has been lodged in Jhajjar jail, Mahal is in Tihar after he was taken by Delhi police on production warrant.