Decades-long Pursuit Ends: Fugitive from Chhota Rajan Gang nabbed for involvement in 1994 robbery case

The Mumbai police managed to track down and apprehend a fugitive associated with the notorious Chhota Rajan gang. Sabir Barkatali Lakhani, aged 59, who had been evading the law for 28 years, was arrested in Surat, Gujarat, for his involvement in a 1994 robbery attempt case. This arrest was confirmed by an official source.

In the year 1994, Lakhani, then a member of the Chhota Rajan gang, along with four of his associates, brazenly entered a real estate broker's office located at Sindhi Camp in Chembur. They were armed and had clear intentions of committing robbery. During this audacious act, they even launched an attack on an on-duty crime branch official. As a consequence, the police registered a case against them, citing various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 399 (making preparations to commit dacoity) and Section 307 (attempt to murder).

Following their arrest, Lakhani and his cohorts were sentenced to five years in jail by a local court. While three of the five arrested individuals met their demise in encounters with the police, Lakhani, along with one other accused, managed to escape capture in 1995. Subsequently, non-bailable warrants were issued for their arrests, marking them as fugitives from justice.


The breakthrough in Lakhani's case occurred when the Mumbai crime branch received a tip-off suggesting that he was located in Surat. Acting promptly on this vital information, law enforcement officers set a trap that led to Lakhani's apprehension on a Saturday. The official emphasized that a number of criminal cases, including ones in Gujarat, have been registered against him. As the investigation continues, Chhota Rajan, the infamous gangster, remains incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar jail.