According to police, Gogi and his rival Sunil alias Tillu have been running extortion rackets in Alipur and Sonipat for years, and the constant strife between the two gangs has often ended in bloodshed.
Two armed men opened fire inside Delhi’s Rohini court on Friday, killing dreaded jailed gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi. Members of the Delhi Police Special Cell’s Counter Intelligence team, who were accompanying Gogi, shot dead the assailants, with 27 bullets in all fired inside the courtroom.
In a major security lapse, the men — believed to belong to a rival gang headed by Sunil, alias Tillu Tajpuriya — managed to sneak into the courtroom with a .38 bore pistol and another of .30 bore posing as lawyers. Gogi received five-six bullet injuries, and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
Incidentally, just half an hour earlier, Tillu’s lieutenant Sunil Maan had been produced in the same courtroom – No. 207 – in connection with the same murder case.
A few months ago, Gogi’s associate Kuldeep alias Fajja had managed to escape from GTB Hospital while in police custody. Since then, teams of the Special Cell had been directed by the Delhi Police headquarters to accompany prominent gangsters to court hearings. Just a few days ago, a team of the Counter Intelligence had gone to Panipat with Gogi for a hearing.
According to police, Gogi and Tillu had been running extortion rackets in Alipur and Sonipat for years, and the constant strife between the two gangs often ended in bloodshed.
“A team of the Northern Range of the Special Cell was accompanying Sunil Maan, who appeared half an hour before Gogi. Around 1.15 pm, Gogi was produced in the courtroom. The two assailants, identified as Rahul, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat, and Moris of Bakkarwala village, were standing at the entrance of the courtroom. They posed as lawyers and entered along with Gogi. Within seconds of entering, they opened fire on him from close range. Gogi received five-six bullet injuries; they fired eight-ten rounds,” said a police officer who was present in the courtroom at the time.
“Personnel of the Special Cell fired in retaliation. In total, eight rounds were fired by both the teams of the Special Cell. From the Northern Range of the Special Cell, Head Constable Kuldeep Hooda fired two rounds, and from the Counter Intelligence side, Head Constable Sandeep Dabas fired four rounds and Constable Rohit fired two. A third battalion also fired on the assailants with an AK-47,” an officer told The Indian Express, saying the two men died on the spot.
“For around 40 seconds, there was absolute chaos inside the courtroom,” the officer added. The local police were informed and Gogi was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to the gunshot wounds.
Gangster Gogi received four bullet injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
A police officer who has investigated the Gogi and Tillu gangs said their rivalry dated back to their college days, when both were at Delhi University and clashed over student politics. The dispute took a violent turn in 2012, when Gogi and his associates allegedly shot at Vikas, a confidant of Tillu. In 2015, Tillu was arrested by the Sonipat police, and has been behind bars.
Later, Gogi was also nabbed by the Haryana CIA from Sonipat and handed over to the Delhi Police.
According to police, desperate to kill Tillu, Gogi had escaped from police custody in 2016 when being taken to a Haryana court for a hearing. He had killed several associates of Tillu before being re-arrested last year from Gurgaon.
Lawyers to abstain from work tomorrow
Following the incident, the Delhi Bar Association has urged the members to abstain from work on Saturday, September 25.
“In view of the call by Coordination Committee of all District Court Bar Association of Delhi, working in the court will be suspended due to revision of security norms on account of today’s unfortunate incident in Rohini Court, Delhi. All members are requested to abstain their work on September 25,” a statement from Delhi Bar Association said.