Petty criminals in Delhi turning gangsters’ henchmen

The trajectory often begins with something small - a pickpocketing arrest, a motorcycle theft or a desperate teenager caught flashing a gun on Instagram for likes. For the Delhi Police, these faces are familiar - boys looking for quick money or fleeting social media fame. But for the city’s sprawling gang network, they are raw recruits.

“Most of these boys don’t even realise they are being groomed. Street-level offenders are easy targets. They are desperate, fearless and often eager to prove themselves,” a senior officer in the Anti-Terror Unit - Special Cell – of the Delhi Police told The Tribune.

From petty thefts to ‘contract killers’

The initiation is deceptively simple. A gang handler assigns a “contract” - intimidate a shopkeeper, collect protection money or fire a warning shot. A successful task brings recognition, small cash rewards, and most importantly, the gang’s trust. From there, the jobs escalate. “Once they’ve crossed that line, it’s hard to come back,” the officer said.

But loyalty is fragile. Splinter groups frequently switch allegiances depending on who offers better protection or a bigger pay-off. These shifting loyalties are one reason why Delhi regularly witnesses violent turf wars.

A growing nexus

Investigations show that the Capital is no longer a standalone arena but a hub for gangs that cut across state borders. Last month, the Delhi Police arrested two sharpshooters of the Harry Boxer gang, foiling what officials said was an attempt to plant the syndicate firmly in the Capital. Boxer’s men had already tied up with the Rohit Godara outfit from Rajasthan, which in turn maintains close links with the Lawrence Bishnoi–Goldy Brar network.

The alliances reveal a pattern - gangs rooted in Haryana (Kala Jatheri), Rajasthan (Rohit Godara, Harry Boxer) and Delhi (Hashim Baba, Rohit Moi) now cooperate seamlessly inside the city. The aim is simple - expand extortion rackets and corner more money in a metropolis where every neighbourhood shop and builder is a potential target.

Bipolar gangland

Officials say there are more than 95 active gangs in Delhi. However, only 10 are major ones. The underworld has largely polarised into two dominant axes - the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate and the Neeraj Bawana–Bhau group.

The Bishnoi umbrella includes the Hashim Baba gang in Northeast Delhi, remnants of Jitender Gogi’s network, and groups led by Prince Tewatia, Deepak Boxer, Kapil Mann and Naresh Sethi. The Bawana alliance, on the other hand, draws strength from Chhenu Pehlwan, Himanshu Bhau, Tillu Tajpuria and Rohit Choudhary.

* The law’s struggle

Over the past year, the Special Cell has stepped up raids, tracked online chatter and kept closer surveillance on jail-based operatives who often run gangs remotely. But the bigger challenge, officials admit, is breaking the cycle that pulls petty criminals into syndicates in the first place.

“Catching them after they’ve fired a gun or joined a gang is too late. The question is, how do we stop a teenager on the street from being seduced into that world”? the officer said.

For now, the gangs continue to evolve, absorbing the city’s restless young men into a violent economy of extortion and contract killings. Each arrest may disrupt an operation, but the pipeline of petty criminals remains open - ensuring Delhi’s gangland never runs short of recruits.