LAHORE : The unnatural death of one of Lahore’s most-dreaded underworld dons, Khawaja Tareef Gulshan (alias Teefi Butt), Saturday flashed headlines in both mainstream and social media, though he was just one of the macho men who have dominated the City’s crime scene at will, and with minimal deterrence.
Till the filing of this report, his cousin Aqeel Butt alias Gogi Butt was on the run and police were hunting him.
Research shows that since 1947, the residents of Lahore have been terrorized by innumerable hardened criminals including drug peddlers, paid assassins, land grabbers, extortionists, criminal student leaders and even some notorious in-service police officers donning the uniform, who visibly flourished under political patronage and were protected by the umbrellas of the men in the echelons of power.
The list of these underworld dons, unleashing a reign of terror, is hence very long.
These widely-feared outlaws have held several generations of Lahore’s citizens captive under the blades of their knives, to begin with, and then under the shadow of sophisticated automatic weapons.
Many of them had made the lives of city traders miserable with demands for extortion. The metropolis of Lahore thus literally and gradually became an incubator of offenders, many of whom were not nabbed by the law-enforcement agencies in time and even if some were caught, they came out of law’s clutches as police deliberately filed weak cases, besides failing to hold identification parades. And finally, their lawyers made use of legal loopholes.
Not many of these criminals have died of natural causes.
While some of them were eliminated in police encounters, both staged and real, others fell to fierce gang wars.
It was during President Ayub Khan’s rule in 1959 that country’s Commander -in-Chief General Musa Khan enacted the famous “Goonda Act” to round up criminals wanted in heinous crimes.
Sharif Gujjar alias Jagga Gujjar of Islamia Park Chowburji Lahore, glorified in underworld’s history for imposing the notorious ‘Jagga Tax’ on city’s Bakar Mandi (cattle market) in the late 1960s, was also among the earliest casualties of these encounters under the 1959 Goonda Act.
Legend has it that Bakar Mandi’s butchers would pay Jagga Gujjar one rupee on every goat they slaughtered.
In fact, Jagga was the first person arrested after the enforcement of the Goonda Act, and eventually killed by police.
Another stalwart, Chaudhary Aslam Cheema, alias Achha Shukerwala, was believed to be the ‘right-hand’ of then President Ayub Khan’s close friend and Governor West Pakistan, Amir Muhammad Khan (the Nawab of Kalabagh).
Media archives reveal that whenever there was a public agitation against issues like price hike, Achha Shukerwala would be called by Governor Amir Muhammad Khan’s staff to enforce ‘law and order.’
He would also hurl threats at dissenting or rival politicians. Achha Shukerwala used to nourish an enmity with Jagga Gujjar.
After Governor Musa Khan imposed the Goonda Act, family members of both Achha Shukerwala and Jagga Gujjar were sent behind bars to prevent a blood bath.
In 1954, Jagga was jailed at just 14 for avenging the murder of his brother, Makhan Gujjar.
Holding Achha Shukerwala responsible for his brother’s murder, Jagga then organized an attack on his foe from his jail cell.
While two of Jagga’s men resultantly perished in the attack, Shukerwala got wounded but survived.
Jagga was released on parole in 1968 at the age of 28.
Many Lollywood films have depicted the life stories of both Achha Shukerwala and Jagga Gujjar.
Jagga (not to be confused with Jagga Daku of the undivided India) was portrayed in films as “Robin Hood,” who would eagerly help out the poor by robbing the dirty rich and then generously distribute his looted booty among the deserving.
Apart from Achha Shukerwala and Jagga Gujjar, dozens of other law-breakers have dominated the crime scene of Lahore.
These include: Babu (Bao) Yaseen, Babu (Bao) Waris, Malik Ghulam Muhammad alias Monoo Blackiya, Hafiz Samad, Ameeruddin alias Billa Truckanwala, Shahia Pehlwan of Taxali Gate, Shahia’s son Javed Butt alias Jajji, Riaz Gujjar, Teefa Pehlwan near Lahore Hotel, Hanifa Baba and his brother Shafiqa Baba, Humayun Gujjar, Bhola Sunyara (jeweler), Noora Kashmiri, Mian Miraj Din alias Maaja Sikh, Mullah Muzaffar, Qayuum alias Qooma Kasai, Azhar alias Ajji Kasai, Saqib Langra, Mubeen Butt, Aslam Bassa, Naveed Lumbiwala, a police inspector Naveed Saeed alias Needi, Achhoo Badmash, another cop Abid Boxer, Sheedi, Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala, Aqeel Butt alias Gogi Butt, Malik Ihsan, Mobeen Butt, Khawaja Ziaul Qamar alias Billu Ghanta Gharya, student leaders Abid Chaudhary, Atif Chaudhary, Arshad Ameen Chaudhary, Tahir Nafees alias Tahir Prince and Raees Tainki, Ghazanffar Barra, Kalu Shahpuriya, Wahidian, Khalid Chitta, Shahid Lamba, Ehsan alias Shana Butt, Iqbal alias Bala Fawaray Wala of Shah Alam Gate, Sana Gujjar, Naji Butt, Safdar Tentanwala, Nisar Khokhar, Bheela Butt, Nadir Gujjar, Babar Butt of Lakho Dehr village and Zafri Natt (the son of famous gangster Noori Natt, who was subject of the hit Punjabi film Maula Jatt) etc.