Sandeep Gadoli was one of the most wanted gangsters in Haryana, who had a long and bloody feud with his rival Binder Gujjar, a former municipal councilor. Gadoli was killed in a controversial encounter by the Gurgaon police in a hotel in Mumbai on February 7, 2016. His family and supporters alleged that it was a fake encounter, orchestrated by Gujjar and the police.
A special investigation team (SIT) of the Mumbai police later confirmed that the encounter was staged, and filed a case against eight persons, including five policemen from Gurgaon. Gadoli’s girlfriend, Divya Pahuja, was also accused of conspiring in the encounter, by sharing his location with the police.
She claimed that she was unaware of his criminal background and that he had introduced himself as Rishabh. Gadoli’s life and death have been the subject of much speculation, controversy, and media attention. This article attempts to shed some light on his biography, wiki, age, wife, family, cases, and news.
Early Life and Family
Sandeep Gadoli was born in 1982 in Gadoli Khurd village, located in the Gurgaon district of Haryana. He belonged to the Gadoliya Jat community, which has a significant presence in the region. His father, Karan Singh Gadoli, was a farmer and a local leader of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) party.
He had a brother, Kuldeep Gadoli, and a sister, Sudesh Kataria. Gadoli completed his schooling at a government school in his village and then pursued a diploma in mechanical engineering from a polytechnic college in Gurgaon. He also worked as a property dealer and owned several plots of land in and around Gurgaon.
Sandeep Gadoli Wiki/Bio
| Name | Sandeep Gadoli |
| Born | 1982 |
| Died | February 7, 2016 |
| Age | 34 |
| Birthplace | Gadoli Khurd village, Gurgaon district, Haryana |
| Occupation | Gangster, property dealer |
| Nickname | Rishabh |
| Father | Karan Singh Gadoli |
| Mother | N/A |
| Siblings | Kuldeep Gadoli (brother) Sudesh Kataria (sister) |
| Wife | N/A |
| Girlfriend | Divya Pahuja |
| Children | N/A |
| sandeepgadoli | |
| Homepage | newsunzip.com |
Criminal Career and Rivalry with Binder Gujjar
Gadoli started his criminal career in the early 2000s when he joined the gang of Ashok Rathi, a notorious gangster from Gurgaon. He soon became Rathi’s trusted aide and was involved in several cases of murder, extortion, robbery, and land grabbing.
He also developed a rivalry with Binder Gujjar, another gangster from Gurgaon, who was associated with the Congress party. Gujjar had contested and won the municipal elections in 2010, and became a councillor from Ward 9 of Gurgaon. He also had a strong network of supporters and informers in the police and administration.
The rivalry between Gadoli and Gujjar intensified in 2013, when Rathi was killed by Gujjar’s men in a shootout in Alwar, Rajasthan. Gadoli vowed to avenge Rathi’s death and launched a series of attacks on Gujjar and his associates. He also formed his gang and recruited several young men from his village and nearby areas.
He operated from various locations, such as Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and frequently changed his mobile numbers and vehicles to evade the police. He was also known to use fake identities and documents, such as Aadhaar cards and PAN cards, to book hotels and travel tickets. He had a reward of Rs. 1.25 lakh on his head and was wanted in 36 cases, including 15 cases of murder and 7 cases of attempt to murder.
Some of the major incidents involving Gadoli and Gujjar are as follows:
- In October 2015, Gadoli’s men shot dead Mahesh alias Attack, a close aide of Gujjar, near the Gurgaon court. Mahesh was also a key witness in the Rathi murder case.
- In November 2015, Gadoli’s men attacked Gujjar’s brother Manish and his friend Pappu, near a wine shop in Gurgaon. Manish and Pappu sustained bullet injuries but survived the attack.
- In December 2015, Gadoli’s men killed Sandeep alias Dabbu, another aide of Gujjar, in a crowded market in Gurgaon.
- In January 2016, Gadoli’s men shot at Gujjar’s car, when he was returning from a wedding function in Gurgaon. Gujjar escaped unhurt, but his driver was injured in the firing.
How did Divya Pahuja meet Sandeep Gadoli?
Divya Pahuja, who was born in 1996, was the daughter of a vegetable seller from Gurugram. She had aspirations of becoming a model and an actress and participated in several beauty pageants and fashion shows. She met Sandeep Gadoli in 2014, when she was 17 years old, through a common friend.
She was attracted to his lavish lifestyle and charisma and soon became his girlfriend. She accompanied him on his trips across the country and often acted as his informer and accomplice. She was also aware of his criminal activities and rivalries and supported him in his endeavors.
Encounter
On February 7, 2016, Gadoli was killed in an encounter by a team of Gurgaon police, led by sub-inspector Pradhuman Yadav, at Hotel Airport Metro in Andheri (east), Mumbai. Gadoli was staying in room number 107 of the hotel, along with his girlfriend Divya Pahuja, and his two associates, Manish and Deepak.
According to the police, they had received a tip-off about Gadoli’s location from an informer and had obtained permission from the Mumbai police to conduct a raid. They claimed that when they knocked on the door of Gadoli’s room, he opened fire at them, and they retaliated in self-defense. Gadoli was hit by three bullets and was declared dead at a nearby hospital. His associates were arrested, and a pistol and five cartridges were recovered from the room.
What happened to Divya Pahuja after the encounter?
Divya Pahuja was lodged in Byculla jail in Mumbai for over four years, along with the other accused in the case. She maintained that she was innocent and that she loved Gadoli. She claimed that she had no idea about the police plan and that she was forced to cooperate with them under threat.
She also said that she was tortured and harassed by the police and the jail authorities and that she was denied proper medical care. She applied for bail several times but was rejected by the courts. She finally got bail in October 2023, after the Bombay High Court observed that there was no direct evidence against her and that the trial was likely to take a long time. She was released from jail on November 2, 2023, and returned to her hometown in Gurugram.
How did Divya Pahuja die?
Divya Pahuja’s life after getting bail was not easy. She faced social stigma and ostracism from her family and community, who considered her a traitor and a murderer. She also received threats from Gadoli’s supporters, who blamed her for his death. She tried to resume her modeling career but found no takers. She also attempted to reconcile with her estranged husband, whom she had married in 2012, but he refused to accept her. She was living alone in a rented accommodation in Gurugram and was struggling to make ends meet. She was also suffering from depression and anxiety and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
On January 3, 2024, Divya Pahuja was killed in a hotel in Gurugram, allegedly by the hotel owner, in what the police describe as the outcome of a blackmail plot. According to the police, Divya Pahuja had befriended the hotel owner, Rajesh Kumar, a few days before her death, and had checked into his hotel, City Point, near a bus stand in the city. She had allegedly extorted money from him, by threatening to expose their relationship to his wife and the media.
She had also demanded a car and a flat from him and had threatened to implicate him in Gadoli’s murder case if he did not comply. Rajesh Kumar, who was fed up with her demands, decided to kill her, and shot her in the head with a country-made pistol, around 10 pm on Tuesday. He then tried to dispose of her body, along with four of his associates, in a car. However, they were intercepted by the police at a checkpoint and were arrested. The police recovered the pistol and the body from the car and registered a case of murder, extortion, and criminal conspiracy against the accused.
Controversy
However, Gadoli’s family and supporters alleged that it was a fake encounter and that he was killed in cold blood by the police at the behest of Gujjar. They claimed that Divya Pahuja, who was the niece of a Gurgaon police constable, had lured Gadoli to Mumbai, and had informed the police about his whereabouts.
They also claimed that the CCTV footage of the hotel showed that the police had barged into Gadoli’s room without any warning, and had shot him point-blank, while he was lying on the bed. They demanded a fair and impartial probe into the encounter and refused to collect his body from the JJ hospital in Mumbai.
The Mumbai police formed a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the encounter and examined the CCTV footage, the ballistic reports, the post-mortem reports, and the statements of the witnesses. The SIT concluded that the encounter was fake and that Gadoli was killed in a planned manner.
The SIT filed an FIR against eight persons, including five policemen from Gurgaon, namely, Pradhuman Yadav, Vikram Singh, Jitender Yadav, Bharat Kumar, and Amit Kumar. The other three accused were Divya Pahuja, Manish, and Deepak. The SIT also sought the custody of the accused and conducted a reconstruction of the encounter at the hotel.
The case is still pending in the court, and the accused are facing charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence. Gadoli’s family has also approached the Bombay High Court, seeking a transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging that the SIT was biased and influenced by the Gurgaon police. Gadoli’s body was finally claimed by his family in September 2016, after nearly seven months of his death, and was cremated in his village.
What is the current status of the case?
The case of Sandeep Gadoli’s fake encounter is still pending in the Bombay High Court, where the accused have challenged the charges framed against them by the trial court. The case has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the frequent transfers of judges and prosecutors.
The case of Divya Pahuja’s murder is being investigated by the Gurugram police, who are trying to ascertain the motive and the sequence of events that led to her death. The police are also probing the possible links between the two cases and the role of Binder Gujjar and other gangsters in the saga. The police are also looking for Divya Pahuja’s husband, who is absconding since her death and is suspected to have some information about the case.
News
A notorious gangster and former politician from Haryana, who was allegedly the mastermind behind the 2016 fake encounter of his rival Sandeep Gadoli, was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on Tuesday, the police said.
Virendra Kumar alias Binder Gujjar, 41, was nabbed by a team of Unit 10 of the Mumbai Crime Branch near Bhondsi prison in Gurugram, Haryana, soon after his release in another case, said Akbar Pathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).
Gujjar, who has serious offenses such as murder, extortion, and kidnapping registered against him, was wanted in the case of Gadoli’s killing, which was initially claimed to be a genuine encounter by the Haryana Police, but later exposed to be a staged operation by the Mumbai Police.
Sandeep Gadoli was a notorious gangster, who had a long and violent history of crime and rivalry in Haryana. He was killed in a controversial encounter by the Gurgaon police in Mumbai, which was later found to be fake by the Mumbai police. His death sparked a lot of debate and outrage, and raised questions about the role of the police, the politicians, and the media in the encounter. His life and death also exposed the dark and murky world of the underworld, where loyalty, betrayal, and revenge are the norm. Gadoli’s story is a tragic and cautionary tale of how crime and violence can ruin lives and families, and how justice and truth can be elusive and manipulated.
