New Delhi, An absconding shooter of the Tillu Tajpuria gang, convicted on charges of murdering his girlfriend’s brother and a man associated with her family, was apprehended after a brief exchange of fire with the Delhi Police’s Special Cell in the Rohini area in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said.
During questioning, he revealed that he remained in touch with fugitive members of the Tillu Tajpuria and Kaushal Chaudhary gangs who were operating from abroad through an encrypted application, police said.
The 40-year-old proclaimed offender, a life convict in the two cases who had jumped parole, was also involved in a case under the Explosive Substances Act. The police recovered an illegal pistol, live cartridges and a motorcycle from his possession.
“Acting on a specific input, a dedicated team was constituted and surveillance was mounted. At around 10:25 pm, the suspect was spotted on a motorcycle and signalled to stop and surrender,” police said.
However, he opened fire at the team, prompting retaliatory firing in self-defence. During the exchange, the accused sustained a bullet injury to his right leg and was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, they said.
During interrogation, he disclosed that while in jail, he had developed close associations with members of the Tillu Tajpuria gang and the Kaushal Chaudhary gang.
He jumped parole in a 2015 murder case and re-established contact with the handlers of these gangs abroad, who were communicating through an encrypted platform. Acting on their directions, he was in the process of arranging weapons to target rival gang members.
The police said the accused has around six FIRs registered against him.
According to police, his criminal history dates back to 2008, when he allegedly shot a man dead following a personal dispute linked to his relationship with a woman in the presence of her family members. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in that case.
In April 2015, after jumping parole, he allegedly murdered the woman’s brother, who was an eyewitness in the earlier case. Along with an associate linked to the Tillu Tajpuria gang, he is accused of abducting the victim at gunpoint, shooting him and dumping the body in Sonipat, Haryana. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in this case as well.
In May 2015, he was apprehended in the Alipur area while allegedly planning another crime with two associates. A hand grenade, six pistols and 13 live cartridges were recovered from their possession, and he was later sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The police said he was released on parole in April 2025 but jumped parole again, and was declared a proclaimed offender by a court in March 2026.
The arrest was part of the Special Cell’s ongoing efforts to track down hardcore criminals and organised gang members operating in the Delhi-NCR region, with a special focus on bail and parole jumpers to curb gang-related violence, officials added.