CHANDIGARH: Fugitive gangster Himanshu Bhau, also known as Himanshu Ritoliya, and his associate Neeraj Kaushik, alias Neeraj Faridpuria, have reportedly been detained in Las Vegas in the United States on October 22, following inputs from the Haryana Special Task Force (STF). The arrests were carried out with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Haryana STF is in touch with US authorities and central agencies to secure their deportation to India.
Bhau, who hails from Ritoli village in Haryana’s Rohtak district, is wanted by the Haryana and Delhi police in multiple murder, kidnapping and extortion cases. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in August 2023. He is also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Investigators allege that Bhau built a criminal network operating across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan while remaining abroad. He is reportedly associated with the Neeraj Bawana gang and has been involved in a violent rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar network. He is also said to have coordinated with the Naveen Bali gang.
Bhau came to prominence in March 2022, when three murders were reported in his home district within 24 hours. Investigators alleged that his network used armed associates to carry out targeted attacks.
The same year, he allegedly fled India using a fake passport obtained through fabricated documents. He initially went to Dubai and later Portugal, from where he is suspected of directing his network through encrypted messaging applications. Sources suspect that he entered the US through the “Dunkey Route” in late 2024 or early 2025.
His gang has been linked to several high-profile shootings and murder cases in Delhi and Haryana, including the killing at a Burger King outlet in Delhi, firing outside YouTuber Elvish Yadav’s residence and shootings at car showrooms in Naraina and Tilak Nagar in Delhi. The gang has also been accused of threatening businesspersons, builders and real estate developers to extort money.
According to investigators, Bhau became involved in crime while still in school. His name first appeared in police records in 2020 following an alleged botched murder attempt linked to a local dispute in his native village. He was sent to a juvenile observation home in Hisar but later escaped.
An Interpol Red Notice seeks the location and provisional arrest of a wanted person pending extradition or similar legal proceedings. It is not, by itself, an international arrest warrant.
