Day after Tajpuriya killing in Tihar jail, police conduct raids in Delhi, Haryana

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested six people and detained 20 others during multiple raids in Delhi and Haryana in search of associates of notorious gangster Kapil Sangwan, officials said.

The raids were carried out a day after jailed gangster Sunil Baliyan alias Tillu Tajpuriya was killed inside the Tihar jail. Tajpuriya, an accused in the 2021 Rohini court shootout in which gangster Jitender Gogi was killed, was stabbed 92 times with improvised knives allegedly by four members of the Gogi gang, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) M Harhsa Vardhan said 21 teams, comprising 300 police personnel, conducted simultaneous raids at 15 locations in Delhi and six in Haryana.

He said 20 people have been detained and six arrested for various offences under the Arms Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act based on the recovery during the raids.

A bullet-proof Fortuner car, three pistols with seven rounds of ammunition, Rs 20 lakh cash, 22.4 grams heroin and 73 grams amphetamine were seized, the DCP said.

The raids targeted Sangwan's gang members, said the officer.

Sangwan's name had cropped up in connection with the killing of Delhi BJP Kisan Morcha leader Surendra Matiala in Dwarka's Bindapur in April after eight people were nabbed in connection with the case. One of the two shooters among them, who was arrested from Chandigarh, was associated with the Sangwan gang.

The raids on Wednesday were also connected to this case, the DCP said.

Sangwan, who has been declared a proclaimed offender, is suspected to be hiding abroad, he said.

Those arrested in the raids were identified as Nitin Narulla, Nikhil, Rajpal, Deepak, Mohit and Jitender Dahiya, police said. They said Deepak, Nikhil and Nitin Narulla were involved in other criminal cases as well.

In Haryana, police raided hideouts in Jhajjar, Sonipat, Bahardurgarh and Mahendragarh, another official said.