US detains gangsters Bhau, Faridpuria; India works on deportation

• Haryana STF and CBI coordinate with US authorities to secure the deportation of Himanshu Bhau and Neeraj Faridpuria.

• Bhau faces multiple murder and extortion cases and is accused of running a criminal network from abroad.

• Faridpuria, who has more than 25 criminal cases against him, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case before being granted bail in 2019.

Haryana Police is working with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and US authorities to finalise arrangements for the deportation of fugitive gangsters Himanshu Bhau and Neeraj Faridpuria, who were detained in the United States on 22 October, officials said on Saturday, 24 October.

The two were apprehended in Las Vegas following inputs from the Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF), with assistance from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both are currently in US immigration custody as Indian agencies work to bring them back to face cases registered against them in India.

Bhau, one of Haryana and Delhi’s most-wanted gangsters, faces multiple cases involving murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and extortion. Police allege that he fled India using forged documents and continued to operate his criminal network from overseas. An Interpol notice was issued against him in August 2023.

Bhau’s criminal career allegedly began at the age of 17, when he attempted to murder a rival. After being arrested, he escaped from a juvenile correctional facility in Hisar in 2020. Investigators allege that he subsequently fled to Portugal and ran his gang from abroad.

His gang is considered a rival of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and has been linked to several high-profile shootings and killings in the Delhi-NCR region.

In September, the gang claimed responsibility on social media for the daylight murder of gym trainer and owner Vijay Kumar in south Delhi’s Aya Nagar. Kumar was shot dead on 14 September after being lured outside, where two motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire. Police said he was the third person killed in an ongoing family rivalry.

The gang was also linked to a 2024 shooting at a Burger King outlet in Rajouri Garden, Delhi, in which a 26-year-old man was killed. Bhau claimed responsibility for the killing on social media, alleging that the victim was involved in the murder of an associate in 2020.

Who is Neeraj Faridpuria?

Faridpuria, a resident of Haryana’s Palwal district, was also living in the US when he was detained. More than 25 criminal cases have been registered against him, including those involving murder, extortion and other alleged organised criminal activities.

Haryana Police arrested Faridpuria following an encounter in 2012. In 2015, a court sentenced him to life imprisonment in a murder case, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in 2019.

His name subsequently surfaced in the murder of Congress leader Vikas Chaudhary, who was shot dead in Faridabad on 26 June 2019. Faridpuria allegedly fled abroad after the killing, travelling via Dubai to Canada before moving to the US.

Investigators have linked him to the Bambiha gang, also a rival of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. He is alleged to have worked alongside Bhau’s network from overseas, and his name has figured in investigations into shootings and extortion cases in the Delhi-NCR region.

The Haryana STF is coordinating with the CBI, India’s nodal agency for Interpol, and US authorities to complete the necessary procedures for the two men’s return. The timing and legal route for their transfer will depend on processes followed by the US authorities.