Jyoti Baba Gang member wanted in murder case arrested in Delhi

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Thursday arrested a member of the notorious Jyoti Baba Gang, who was wanted in a murder case registered at Hari Nagar Police Station, police said. The accused had allegedly jumped interim bail, following which a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against him by the court. The police also recovered a semi-automatic pistol and two live cartridges from his possession.

As part of an ongoing drive to curb organised crime and apprehend hardened criminals, law enforcement agencies intensified surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations, officials said.

A special campaign was launched to track down notorious and absconding offenders involved in heinous crimes.

Along with technical surveillance, manual intelligence networks were also activated to collect actionable inputs regarding the movements of such criminals.

On May 5, specific intelligence was received by Head Constable Janak Gill, Constable Sandeep, and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Anil, all posted at Northern Range-I of the Crime Branch, regarding the movement of accused Rakesh alias Tinku, an active operative of the Jyoti Baba Gang.

The accused was wanted in an FIR registered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 323, 506, and 34 of the IPC at Hari Nagar Police Station, officials added.

A non-bailable warrant had already been issued against him by the court after he absconded while on interim bail.

Acting on the information, a police team comprising ASI Anil, Head Constable Janak Gill, and Constable Sandeep, under the leadership of Inspector Pankaj Thakran and the supervision of ACP Ashok Sharma from the Northern Range-I of the Crime Branch, laid a trap to apprehend the accused.

Police said that when the team attempted to arrest him, accused Rakesh tried to evade capture but was eventually overpowered by the officers.

During a cursory search, the police recovered one Bretta pistol along with two live cartridges from his possession.

Following the recovery, a fresh case vide FIR dated May 6, 2026, under Section 25 of the Arms Act was registered against the accused Rakesh.

The accused has been identified as 32-year-old Rakesh alias Tinku, son of Subhash Chander and a resident of Delhi's Najafgarh.

According to investigators, Rakesh and his associates, including Sachin alias Chhikara, were involved in the murder of one Ram Niwas inside Tihar Jail due to previous enmity and rivalry. The case was registered at the Hari Nagar Police Station.

Police said that Rakesh studied up to Class 12 but fell into bad company during his teenage years. In 2018, he was lodged in Tihar Jail for the first time and subsequently became a habitual offender. He later joined the Jyoti Baba Gang and allegedly became involved in violent and organised criminal activities, including murder, assault, and illegal possession of arms.

The accused has an extensive criminal record with multiple cases registered against him across different police stations in Delhi, including charges related to assault, robbery, attempted murder, rioting, illegal arms possession, and obstruction of public servants.