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Friday March 29, 2024

The famous gangsters of Lahore and the unending reign of terror

By Sabir Shah
February 11, 2018

Since 1947, the residents of Lahore have been terrorized by innumerable hardened criminals, who include drug peddlers, paid professional assassins, land grabbers, extortionists, 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 whose voices were heard in the echelons of power.

The recently arrested policeman-turned-criminal Abid Boxer is just a part of this very long list of underworld dons and macho men who have run and overruled this city at will with minimal deterrence.

Research conducted by the "Jang Group and Geo Television Network" shows that since partition, these widely-feared outlaws have held several generations of ordinary Lahorites captive under the blades of their knives, to begin with, and then under the shadow of sophisticated automatic weapons.

Many of them have been responsible for making the lives of city traders miserable with excessive demands for extortion. The rich and poor both dreaded them.

Not many of these criminals have thus died of natural causes.

While some of these "goondas," considered the pioneers of starting this unabated outrage, have been eliminated in police encounters, both staged and original, others have fallen victims to fierce gang rivalries.

With not many concerted efforts initiated at state level during the last 70 years to harness these criminals involved in murders, attempted murders, extortion, land-grabbing, drug pushing and kidnappings for ransom etc, the metropolis of Lahore literally became an incubator of criminals.

Many of these miscreants grew in size just because they 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 had deliberately filed incomplete cases, besides failing to hold identification parades.

These criminal elements also breathed freely because witnesses changed their statements under duress on many occasions and complainants had stopped pursuing the cases due to fear of lives.

It was during the rule of President Ayub Khan in 1959 that country's Commander -in-Chief General Muhammad Musa Khan Hazara (1908–1991) had implemented the famous "Goonda Act" to round up criminals wanted in heinous crimes.

Chaudhry Muhammad 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 to be slaughtered.

In fact, Jagga Gujjar, son of Chaudhry Buddha Khan Raees Gujjar, was the first person arrested after the enforcement of the Goonda Act. He was eventually killed by police in confinement and his body was thrown in the Bakar Mandi area.

Jagga's follower, Kaka Lohar, was also killed by police.

Another stalwart, Chaudhary Aslam alias Accha Shukerwala, was believed to be the 'right-hand' of then President Field Martial Ayub Khan's close friend and Governor West Pakistan, Amir Muhammad Khan, also known as the Nawab of Kalabagh.

History tells whenever there was a public agitation against a price hike; Accha Shukerwala would be called by Governor Amir Muhammad Khan's staff to enforce ‘law-and-order.’

He was also used to deliver warnings and hurl threats at dissenting or rival politicians.

Accha Shukerwala used to nourish an enmity with Jagga Gujjar.

After Governor Musa Khan had imposed the Goonda Act [1959], family members of both Accha Shukerwala and Jagga Gujjar were put behind bars to prevent a blood bath.

Jagga Gujjar was jailed at the age of 14 for avenging the murder of his brother, Makhan Gujjar, in 1954.

Just eight days later, Jagga managed to kill the man who had shot his brother dead.

Holding Accha Shukerwala responsible for Makhan Gujjar’s murder, Jagga organized an attack on Shukerwala from his jail cell.

While two of his men had resultantly perished in the attack, Accha Shukerwala was wounded but barely managed to survive.

Jagga had also killed a man from Accha’s group in jail before he was released on parole in 1968 at the age of 28.

Many Lollywood films have depicted the life stories of both Accha 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 always eagerly help out the poor by robbing the dirty rich and then generously distribute his looted booty among the deserving cadres of the society.

Ironically, many youngsters even idolized the renowned criminals of their time, courtesy these films primarily produced by the heirs of these criminals, projected as peace-loving humans who took up weapons just to fight injustice and the cruel.

Apart from Accha 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, Ameeruddin alias Billa Truckan Wala, Shahia Pehlwan of Taxali Gate Lahore,Shahia Pehlwan's son Javed Ilyas Butt alias Jajji, Riaz Gujjar, Teefa Pehlwan of Shah Abul Maali near Lahore Hotel, Hanifa Baba and his brother Shafiqa Baba, Humayun Gujjar, Bhola Sunyara (jewller), Noora Kashmiri, Mian Miraj Din alias Maja Sikh, Mullah Muzaffar, Qayuum alias Qooma Kasai, Ajji Kasai, Saqib Langra, Mubeen Butt, Aslam Bassa, Naveed Lumbiwala, a Punjab police inspector Naveed Saeed alias Needi, Acchoo Badmash, Sheedi, Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala, Gogi Butt, Khawaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt, Malik Ihsan, Mobeen Butt, Khawaja Ziaul Qamar alias Billu Ghanta Gharya, student leaders Abid Chaudhary, Atif Chaudhary and Arshad Ameen Chaudhary, Ghazanffar Barra, Tahir Nafees alias Tahir Prince, Raees Tainki, Kalu Shahpuriya, Wahidian, Pinki, Khalid Chitta, Mian Dawood, Naeem Khan, Qaiser Khan, Shahid Lamba, Ehsan alias Shana Butt, Iqbal alias Bala Fawaray Wala of Shah Alam Gate, Ibba Gujjar, Sana Gujjar, Nawaz Butt alias Naji Butt, Safdar Tentan Wala, Malik Nisar Khokhar, Bheela Butt, Chaudhary Maqsood alias Sooda of Gowalmandi, Amjad Gujjar, Nadar Gujjar, Babar Butt of Lakho Dehr village and Zafri Natt, the son of Noori Natt (a famous gangster and subject of the hit Punjabi film Maula Jatt).