There have been many big encounters in the history of the Special Cell of Delhi Police, but the Sonu Gangster encounter of 2005 still remains a topic of discussion in the corridors of the department. This is the story of a gangster who had spread terror throughout Delhi-NCR but his one mistake and the bravery of the Special Cell put an end to him.
Encounter specialist and retired ACP Lalit Mohan Negi, who led this entire mission, has revealed the layers of this mysterious operation.
Who was Lalit Mohan Negi?
Lalit Mohan Negi is the name of Delhi Police whom terrorists and gangsters were afraid of. Some major achievements of his career:
33 Encounter: He conducted a total of 33 encounters in his career in which 47 criminals and terrorists were killed (including 11 Pakistani terrorists).
Large Case: Solved high-profile cases like Parliament attack (2001), Jama Masjid attack, German Bakery blast and Sidhu Moosewala murder mystery.
Current Role: Even after retirement, Delhi Police is taking advantage of his experience and he is serving as a consultant. The Home Ministry has given him Y+ category security.
Operation Sonu: When a girl became a weapon of the police
Najafgarh’s gangster Sonu had committed many murders. The police were after him for months but he dodged every time. Then the police received a manual input. Sonu had a disgusting habit. He used to pick up a new girl every two days and exploit her. Sonu kept a girl hostage for two days and then released her. The Special Cell took the girl into confidence. The girl told the police the address of the society in Gurgaon (Gurugram) where she was kept.
14 hour orgy: Death warrant on 11th floor
When the police reached that new society in Gurgaon, 80% of the flats there were vacant. This operation was like the climax of a movie. Sonu was clever, he used to go away from his hideout to use the phone so that the police could not trace the location. Police broke the door of a flat. Found a friend of Sonu there. After interrogation, it was found that Sonu was hiding in another house nearby.
When the police surrounded Sonu, he threw his pistol down so that the police thought he was surrendering but Negi and his team sensed his trickery. There was a cache of weapons inside the room. Sonu’s friends were trying to get down from the back part of the flat. In this encounter that lasted for 14 hours, 50-60 soldiers of the Special Cell took charge. In the end, all three gangsters Sonu Jaswant and Jaiprakash were killed.
Importance of encounter
This encounter was special because the police handled the hostage situation very professionally and eliminated the dreaded criminals in the residential area without harming any civilian.