New Delhi, Jul 31 (IANS): The National Capital's most wanted gangster Jyoti alias Baba, who was carrying a Rs 1,00,000 bounty on his head, was nabbed by the Special Cell of Delhi police from Gujarat.

According to police, Jyoti took shelter in Junagadh and kept changing his hideouts in Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Surat. These shelters were provided to him by Dhirenbhai Karia, a Gujarat-based liquor mafia don who had also lent his luxury cars to him and his gang members for their movement.

The Haryana liquor mafias were also in constant touch with him and they were discussing ways and means to establish long term safe havens in Gujarat and operating from there to strengthen the synergies brought about by the joining of ranks of major liquor mafias spread across various states.

Jyoti, a resident of Najafgarh, was absconding since August 2019 after jumping the parole granted to him by a Haryana court. He was also wanted in a case under the MCOC Act registered against him and his eleven gang members including his younger brother Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu. The gangster was planning to eliminate his arch rival Manjeet alias Mahaal, another gangster who is presently in judicial custody, police said.

"Accused Jyoti committed a murder in Gurugram at the age of 16 but was soon released for being a juvenile. Soon, he made a name for himself and by recruiting several local villagers into a proper gang, he started challenging the established ganglord Manjeet Mahaal, who was ruling the Najafgarh and surrounding areas," said Manishi Chandra, DCP (Special Cell).

According to police the rivalry soon culminated in a bloodbath, claiming over a dozen lives. At the age of 19, he committed another murder during the ongoing gang war in Bahadurgarh, Haryana and then absconded.

He was subsequently arrested and after trial, was sentenced to life. After his conviction, his younger brother Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu took over the command of his gang. Baba, however, continued directing the gang from behind the four walls of the jail.

With Baba in jail providing the brains and Nandu on the ground flexing his muscles, the gang soon emerged as the synonym of terror and became deeply involved in extortion, land grab and targeted killings.

Kapil alias Nandu was arrested in 2016.

In June 2019, Kapil managed to get parole and once out, jumped the facility. After jumping parole, Kapil marked his presence September 24, 2019, when he, along with an associate, murdered a property dealer in the Dwarka area by pumping several bullets into his body in broad daylight. Since then, he has also been absconding with a bounty of Rs 50,000 on his head.

The police team received a tip off that Jyoti alias Baba was hiding in Gujarat using fake identities. A trail of one such fake identity being used by him pointed to a hotel in Surat. Acting swiftly the police team nabbed Jyoti while he was trying to move to another city in a SUV.

"The Audi Q7 has been found to be registered in the name of one Dhirenbhai Karia, a resident of Junagadh, Gujarat who is an infamous liquor mafia. His clout can be estimated from the fact that he had contested the 2019 Parliamentary elections from Junagadh as an independent candidate.

"Dhirenbhai is presently understood to be lodged in Surat jail, Gujarat. His involvement with Delhi-NCR based gangsters is being probed," said Chandra.