 "Luxury bags and elite parties: The life of Zoya Khan, Delhi’s ‘Lady Don’, now arrested with heroin")
Police had been keeping an eye on Delhi’s “Lady Don” for a while, but she often managed to remain one step ahead until Wednesday.
Zoya Khan, the wife of notorious gangster Hashim Baba, was arrested by Delhi’s Special Cell on Wednesday in a drug-related case.
She was caught in possession of 270 grammes of heroin, which is valued at around Rs 1 crore on the global market.
Agencies had been unable to obtain evidence against her up until this point, even though they knew she oversaw her gangster husband’s extortion racket and drug network.
Here’s all we know about her.
Who is Zoya Khan?
Zoya Khan, 33, is gangster Hashim Baba’s third wife. She married him in 2017 after divorcing her first husband.
The two were reportedly neighbours in Northeast Delhi and had fallen in love soon after her divorce.
Baba is currently lodged in Tihar Jail with multiple cases of murder, extortion, and arms violations against him.
After Baba was jailed, Khan handled the gang’s activities from outside the jail, helping with extortion and other crimes, according to NDTV.
India Today claims that Khan represented Haseena Parkar, the sister of criminal Dawood Ibrahim, who ran his illegal business while evading the police.
Special Cell sources claim that Khan led a lavish lifestyle, regularly went to prominent events, and flaunted expensive brands on social media.
She frequently went to see Baba in prison.
According to police sources, Baba taught her coded language and gave her tips and counsel on how to run the gang’s activities and funds. She also kept in close contact with other criminals and his connections outside of prison.
Khan’s family is also linked to the criminal world.
While her father had been involved in drug supply, her mother was imprisoned in 2024 in connection with a sex racket case and is currently out on bail.
Khan had four to five armed henchmen from Baba’s gang close to her because of her influence in the neighbourhood.
Also read: What is mescaline, the new drug that is getting Delhi high?
How was Zoya Khan arrested?
For years, police had attempted to apprehend Khan, but she repeatedly evaded arrest.
She was eventually caught in a drug case, however, by Special Cell ACP Sanjay Dutt and Inspector Sandeep Dabas.
After receiving a tip, the police detained her as she supplied drugs in the Welcome neighbourhood of Northeast Delhi.
They found 270 grammes of heroin valued at almost Rs 1 crore on the international market.
According to investigations, Khan obtained the drugs from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in order to distribute them further.
How is Baba linked to Lawrence Bishnoi?
When Baba’s name surfaced in the Nadir Shah murder case, the Special Cell also suspected Khan’s involvement in sheltering shooters. They had interrogated her at their Lodhi Colony office in connection with the shooting, as per India Today.
Shah, a gym owner in South Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash-1 area, was shot dead in September 2024.
Fugitive gangster Goldy Brar’s aide Rohit Godara had claimed responsibility, saying, “We got Nadir killed…Our brother in Tihar jail, Baba had sent a message saying that he (Shah) was colluding with our enemies and was creating a hurdle in all our work. So, we got him killed. Whoever colludes with us or our brother’s enemies…will pay the same price. All our enemies should be ready…we will see them soon. Wait and watch…”
While in prison, Baba also allegedly admitted to his role in the killing and implicated another jailed gangster, Lawrence Bishnoi . Bishnoi’s gang is also accused of the murder of musician Sidhu Moose Wala and the firing incident outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence .
The authorities claim that Baba and Bishnoi became acquaintances when the former was imprisoned in 2021.
They coordinated criminal acts while imprisoned in different jails by maintaining contact via illegal phone lines and video calls.
What do we know about gang wars in Delhi?
Northeast Delhi has long been a battleground for gang wars.
Hashim Baba Gang, Nasir Pehalwan Gang, and Chenu Gang have been making a lot of money from extortion and drug delivery.
Earlier in January this year, a gunfight had broken out between two gangs on Delhi street, leaving two critical and three injured.
The firing which had continued for an hour in the Sangam Vihar area, and two people, identified as Sahil and Rahul, were arrested.
With inputs from agencies
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