Led by a 22-year-old, gang with logo & punchline growing footprint in NCR

Gurgaon: Two incidents of firing in the city – targeting singer-rapper Fazilpuria last month and YouTuber Elvish Yadav on Sunday – have been claimed by gangster Himanshu Ritoliya alias Himanshu Bhau, whose brazen assertions indicate a new problem for Gurgaon police.After bike-borne men fired over a dozen rounds at Elvish's house in Sector 57, the Bhau gang claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post that was marked with a corporate-style logo of two guns, with the tagline — "Bhau gang since 2020".As the tagline says, Ritoliya (22) started the gang in 2020. But his brush with the world of gangsters began years ago.Police records show that the first case was filed against Ritoliya before the pandemic for allegedly firing in his native village in Rohtak. Ritoliya and others allegedly broke out of the compound where they were held.It was after the breakout that Ritoliya got in touch with gangster Naveen Bali and joined the Bawana gang, becoming one of the most prominent faces of the group that amassed money by extorting businessmen based in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.By 2020, even after the Bhau gang was carved out, Ritoliya held the unique position of being supported by other gangs – Bawana and the Davinder Bambiha gangs.Police say Ritoliya is named in at least 50 cases across Haryana districts and NCR. Charges against him include murder, attempted murder, robbery, cheating and illegal possession of weapons.One of the high-profile cases against Ritoliya was the killing of 26-year-old Aman Joon, who was shot dead when he was sitting with a woman in a Burger King outlet in Delhi's Rajouri Garden in June 2024. Investigators believe Joon was killed by Bhau's men on the request of Bawana gang, which wanted to avenge the 2020 killing of a Bawana's cousin in Jhajjar.In 2023, members of Bhau gang allegedly fired 40 bullets at the office of a builder in Dwarka after he refused an extortion demand.Ritoliya, police said, allegedly used a fake passport to flee India on Sept 24, 2022, when he boarded a flight bound for Portugal via Dubai from Delhi. Authorities suspect he is operating from the US now.Though Interpol issued a red corner notice in 2023 and Haryana Police announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh for information on Ritoliya, the gangster has managed to evade arrest till now.He allegedly runs the gang with the help of his close friends – Sahil, Yogesh alias Bobby Kadiyan and Neeraj Pandit."Our agencies are making all possible efforts to trace Himanshu Bhau, who is handling his gang from abroad. He will be traced and brought back to India hopefully soon," a senior police officer said on Monday.Separately, Gurgaon cops said they are yet to identify the three shooters who fired over two dozen shots at Elvish Yadav's house in the city around 5.30am on Sunday. The three fled towards Gwal Pahari afterwards.Sources said cops are yet to question Elvish as he was out of town for a shoot. The YouTuber on Monday thanked his followers on Instagram and said that his family members are safe.Before the Elvish case, rapper Fazilpuria escaped an attack when some men fired at his car near Sector 71 on July 14. The attack was linked to a financial dispute, with gangster Sunil Sardhania — believed to be a member of the Himanshu Bhau gang — claiming it was over a Rs 5-crore loan. The singer denied taking any loan.