-SATISH HANDA
Ambala has 25 years old history of gang wars between gangster groups which claimed more than two dozen lives since after the year 1996 when residents of twin city Ambala saw human blood flowing on the roads quite often. However, relief in cases of gang wars between gangster groups witnessed relief after Bobby murder case. Blood shed started once again in 2019 with the gang war between two groups led by gangster Bhuppi Rana presently lodged in Kurukshetra jail in a murder case and Lawrence Bishnoi presently lodged in jail at Ajme in Rajasthan.
The history of gang war between gangster groups started in 1996 when a municipal counsellor Raju Dhalhaiya was shot dead outside Sadar police station Ambala Cantt . Among others shot dead in Bobby gang war included Jitender Heera in 1999, Ramesh Duggal and Bindu in 2002, killing of Rajender Bobby of Ambala City and Rinku in 2004, murder of gang members Deva, Bibba, Anoop, Jeewan and Raj Kumar in 2005, murder of Chidia in 2006, Rakesh alias Bobby’s sisterRitu and a gang member Ramesh were shot dead while standing outside her house in 2009 followed by killing of gangster Bobby while he was shot dead in Ambala City courts complex during hearing of a case against him in the same year. Among others shot dead during gangster attacks included Surya Partap in 2011, a former village Sarpanch Gurpal Singh in 2013 and a former police sub inspector Satvinder Singh alias Kala in the same year.
The life of witnesses in cases under trial in courts, too, was unsafe as in case of Ranhir Singh and his uncle Puran Chand witnesses in a case of Gurdeep Singh murder case were shot dead in 2013, a police constable was shot dead in court complex in an attempt to kill a witness in Session Judge Murder case. Panic was seen in residents of twin city Ambala on March 25, 2021 when members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang sprinkled 30 rounds of bullets on four members of rival Bhuppi Rana gang in broad daylight near busy Kalka Chowk on the national highway between Delhi and Amritsar when four members of Bhuppi Rana gang while on bale were on way to Chandigarh after attending hearing in a case at Ambala court in their Verna car chased by members of rival Lawrence Bishnoi gang stopped the vehicle and the members having covered their face with mask started firing in which two members of Bhuppi Rana gang identified as Rahul (32) and Pradeep alias Punja (31) both residents of Mauli Jagran Chandigarh sustained bullet injuries died on way to civil hospital Ambala City and two others Ashwani (25) and Gaurav (24) stated serious were referred to government hospital Panchkula and PGI Chandigarh respectively by the doctors of Trauma Centre Ambala City.
According to Y. Purankumar IGP Ambala and Hameed Akhtar SSP Ambala reached at the spot immediately to investigate crime, there were frequent clashed between the members of both gangster groups registered by the police at Raipur Rani in Kurukshetra district and Fazilka in Punjab. The members of both gangster groups also had a clash with each other inside the jail in July 2019 in which case was registered against 52 persons. Police officers told that as many as 25 criminal cases are registered against Bhuppi Rana and the car in which the members of Bhuppi Rana gang were travelling was taken by then from a friend Shubham a resident of Chandigarh. According to police information, three persons has been taken into custody suspected having links with the accused.
