New Delhi:

For years, she stayed untouchable. But the law finally caught up with the ‘Lady Don’ of Delhi. Zoya Khan, the wife of notorious gangster Hashim Baba, was arrested for possessing 270 grams of heroin, worth approximately Rs 1 crore in the international market. 

Zoya, 33, had long been on the radar of law enforcement but always managed to stay a few steps ahead. She managed her jailed husband’s criminal empire by running his gang while ensuring that no direct evidence could link her to illegal activities. Despite suspicions about her role, the police had never been able to build a solid case — until now.

Hashim Baba has dozens of cases against him, ranging from murder and extortion to arms smuggling. Zoya Khan is his third wife. Before marrying Hashim Baba in 2017, Zoya was married to another man. After her divorce, she came into contact with Baba. The two were neighbours in North East Delhi where they fell in love. 

Empire Of Crime

After Baba was jailed, Zoya took over the gang’s operations. According to sources, Zoya’s role in her husband’s gang was that of Haseena Parkar, the sister of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who once controlled his illegal businesses. Sources in the Delhi Police Special Cell say that Zoya was deeply involved in managing extortion and drug supply.

Unlike a typical crime boss, Zoya maintained a certain image. She attended high-profile parties, flaunted expensive clothes, and indulged in luxury brands – details evident from her social media presence where she enjoys a large following. 

Zoya frequently visited her husband in Tihar Jail. Police sources say Baba trained her in coded language, giving her tips and advice on how to manage the gang’s finances and operations. She also maintained direct contact with his associates outside prison, as well as with other criminals.

For years, the Special Cell and Crime Branch of the Delhi Police struggled to catch her. This time, however, the Special Cell succeeded. Acting on intelligence, the police arrested Zoya in the Welcome area of North East Delhi. She was caught red-handed with a large quantity of heroin, allegedly sourced from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar for further distribution.

The police suspect that Zoya also provided shelter to shooters involved in the Nadir Shah murder case. Mr Shah, a gym owner in South Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash-1 area, was shot dead in September 2024. Last month, she was interrogated at the Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell in connection with the shooting. 

Family Background 

For Zoya, crime is a family enterprise. Her mother was jailed in 2024 for her alleged involvement in a sex trafficking ring. She is currently out on bail. Her father was linked to drug supply networks. Zoya herself operated from different locations in North East Delhi, particularly Usmanpur, always surrounded by 4-5 armed henchmen –loyalists of her gangster husband. 

The North East Delhi region has long been associated with criminal gangs, including the Chhenu gang, the Hashim Baba gang, and the Nasir Pehelwan gang, among others. While these groups initially focused on drug trafficking, their conflicts have resulted in a series of violent murders after 2007.

Baba’s gang amassed massive extortion revenue, much of which was funnelled to Zoya. 

Links To Lawrence Bishnoi

Baba’s name surfaced in the Nadir Shah murder case last year. While in Tihar Jail, he allegedly confessed to his role in the killing and implicated Lawrence Bishnoi – another jailed gangster who runs a massive network of shooters, involved in the murder of musician Sidhu Moose Wala and the firing incident outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence. 

According to the police, Baba and Bishnoi developed ties during the former’s imprisonment in 2021. Despite being held in separate jails, they maintained contact through illicit phone lines and video calls, coordinating criminal activities from behind bars.

New Delhi:

Achieving a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police has arrested the man who had shot a gym owner in south Delhi’s upscale Greater Kailash area last month. The man, who is believed to be associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi and Hashim Baba gangs, was arrested after a shootout.

Police said they had received a tip-off that Madhur alias Mota Arman, who was the main shooter in the killing of Nadir Shah, would be in the Narela Industries area in north Delhi on Saturday. A team laid a trap for him and when he arrived in the area on a motorcycle around 9 pm and was asked to stop, he opened fire.

The police fired back and some bullets hit Madhur, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital. A pistol and 12 cartridges were recovered from the spot.

“In this shootout, Madhur sustained bullet injuries in his right knee and left ankle. A bullet fired by him hit Sub-Inspector Adesh Kumar, who was wearing a bulletproof jacket,” an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

CCTV footage of the September 12 shooting had shown Madhur, wearing a checked shirt, opening fire at Shah in Greater Kailash-1. An associate who was with Shah managed to duck but the gym owner was shot six to eight times and died at a hospital.

Police had later said that Shah, who is of Afghan origin, had come in the crosshairs of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang because he had asked his business partner not to pay Rs 5 crore that the outfit had tried to extort from him.

Shah was allegedly also friends with south Delhi gangsters Ravi Gangwal and Rohit Chaudhary, who were enemies of Hashim Baba, a northeast Delhi gangster. Sources said Rohit Godara, a key member of the Bishnoi gang – who has claimed responsibility for Shah’s murder – used this enmity to rope in Hashim Baba in his plan to kill the gym owner.

Hashim Baba brought in Randeep, a gangster from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who is currently in the US. Baba, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, also roped in his jailmate Sameer Baba, a gangster who was once threatened by Shah. 

At least four arrests had been made in the case earlier.

New Delhi:

The gym owner who was shot dead in South Delhi’s upscale Greater Kailash area on Thursday night had come in the crosshairs of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang because he had asked his business partner not to pay Rs 5 crore that the outfit had tried to extort from him, sources have told NDTV. 

Nadir Shah, who is of Afghan origin, was allegedly also friends with two South Delhi gangsters. This friendship was used by the Bishnoi gang to tap the enemies of the gangsters, who, in turn, roped in people who had been threatened by Shah earlier, building a complex web before finally carrying out the murder. 

Shah was shot dead on a busy road in Greater Kailash-1. A video of the shooting showed him standing and talking to one of his associates near some parked cars when a man in a checked shirt walked up to them and began firing. Shah’s associate managed to duck but the gym owner was shot six to eight times and was declared dead at a hospital.

While the shooter is on the run, four people have been arrested so far and their interrogation and the police’s investigation have revealed that Shah was a business partner of a man called Kunal Chhabra, who runs several illegal call centres in Delhi. Some time ago, members of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang had tried to extort Rs 5 crore from Chhabra, but Shah had told him not to pay, saying he would protect him because he had friends in high places. 

Sources said this made Shah a target for the Bishnoi gang and he also spoke to Lawrence Bishnoi to negotiate a settlement, but was turned down. Around this time, Bishnoi was taken into police custody and allegedly tortured and he held Shah responsible for that. He allegedly declared in front of police officials that he would now take not five but Rs 10 crore from Shah and Chhabra. 

Spinning The Web

Shah was friends with South Delhi gangsters Ravi Gangwal and Rohit Chaudhary, who were enemies of Hashim Baba, a North East Delhi gangster. Sources said Rohit Godara, a key member of the Bishnoi gang – who has claimed responsibility for Shah’s murder – used this enmity to rope in Hashim Baba in his plan to kill Shah. 

Hashim Baba brought in Randeep, a gangster from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who is currently in the US. Randeep allegedly brought in a few men from Azamgarh to kill Shah. 

Widening the conspiracy, Hashim Baba, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, also roped in his jailmate Sameer Baba, a gangster who was once threatened by Shah. 

The shooting was finally carried out by Hashim Baba and Randeep’s shooters and of the four men who have been arrested by the police so far, three – Nilesh Tiwari, Vishal Verma and Akash Yadav – are from Azamgarh, while Naveen Baliyan is from Sonipat in Haryana. 

Shah’s business partner, Chhabra, is in Dubai and has a non-bailable warrant against him in Delhi. Shah also owned a business in Dubai and had several criminal cases against him.