Notorious gangs of Punjab
In the past decade, the state saw a proliferation of gangs. Their numbers surged and there was a spurt in extortion and loot. Here are some of these gangs:
Jai (Shera Khuban gang)
Region: Punjab
Crime: Extortion and highway robberies
Being run in the name of Gurshahid Singh alias Shera Khuban, killed in an encounter in Bathinda in 2012, the gang, led by Jaipal Singh, one of the most dreaded gangsters, carries out its activities across the state. The gang is involved in extortion and highway robberies. However, Jaipal is underground from the time he and his associates killed rival Jaswinder Singh Rocky in April 2016.
Sukha Kahlon (Sukha Kahlon gang)
Region: Doaba & Majha in Punjab Crime: Kidnapping, ATM looting, property grabbing
Despite the killing of ‘sharpshooter’ Sukhbir Singh alias Sukha Kahlon by the Gounder group in 2015, the gang is active in Doaba and Majha regions. Kahlon was being taken for a court hearing when the assailants took the policemen accompanying him hostage, shot him dead and danced around his body. Vicky Gounder, now prime accused, and he wre together in Jalandhar Sports College in 2007, but fell out.
Gu ala (Sewewala gang)
Region: Malwa; Haryana, Rajasthan Crime: Murder, loot, ransom Based in the Malwa region, the gang was formed by Ranjeet Sewewala. After he was killed in 2015, his brother Gurbaksh Singh, an ‘A’ category gangster, took charge. The gang came into existence following the death of notorious criminal Davinder Bambiha. The Sewewala brothers inducted most of Bambiha’s gang members into their group. Gurbaksh was caught by the police in Bathinda in September 2017 after an encounter.
Jaggu Bhagwanpuria (Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang)
Region: Punjab
Crime: Extortion and highway robberies Active in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts, the gang is headed by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria who remained an irritant for the police till his arrest in July 2015. It has strong links with the Sukha Kahlon gang in Doaba. But the Bhagwanpuria gang fell foul of Gounder who killed three of its members in Gurdaspur in August last year. Besides kidnapping and extortion, the gang is also involved in drug and arms smuggling in areas along the international border with Pakistan.
Sup g (Harry Chattha Gang)
Region: Majha (Punjab), UP Crime: Murder, extortion and highway robberies
Active in the Majha region, the gang is headed by Supreet Singh alias Harry Chattha from Batala with Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Ghanshampuria from Amritsar being a key member. Both are on the ‘most wanted list of the state police and have remained elusive so far. This gang played a key role in the Nabha jailbreak in 2016. Other members include Sukhmeet Singh alias Sukha Gurdaspur and Gurpreet Kaura.
Lawrence Bishnoi (Lawrence Bishnoi gang)
Region: Malwa; Delhi, Rajasthan Crime: Highway robberies and contract killing
A former leader of the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), he was a student of DAV College in Chandigarh. He is presently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan. The gang is involved in highway robberies and contract killings. It also trades in illegal arms. The gangster hit the headlines last month for threatening to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.