LAHORE: The Chuhng police on Monday registered a murder case of Ameer Balaj Tipu, the son of the late Tipu Truckanwala, against Khwaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt and Khwaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt on the complaint of the family of Balaj who was killed in a wedding ceremony the other day.

The family nominated the Butts following over 30-year old enmity as Balaj’s father Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala was also shot dead at the Allama Iqbal International Airport allegedly over the same rivalry about a decade back. Gogi Butt was nominated in the murder case of Truckanwala too and he was acquitted of the murder charge a year later.

Following the murder of Ameer Balaj, the traders shut down local markets on Monday, especially the Shahalam Market, the stronghold of Balaj the family.

The funeral prayers for Balaj were performed amid heightened security measures. He was laid to rest at the local graveyard along the Circular Road in the Shahalam Gate area.

Gogi Butt, Teefi booked for Truckanwala son’s murder

Ameer Balaj, 34, was allegedly shot dead by a ‘shooter’ on Sunday night at a wedding ceremony in a private housing scheme in the Chuhng area. The suspected killer was also shot dead in the crossfire when the private guards of Balaj retaliated.

Balaj’s younger brother Ameer Mussab nominated Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt in the first information report (FIR), alleging that they were behind his brother’s murder. He said four unidentified armed men arrived at the wedding ceremony when Balaj was preparing to leave the venue. As he reached near his car, the armed men unleashed fire and injured Balaj and two of his fellows, the report said and added that Balaj died of bullet wounds at the Jinnah Hospital while the condition of another injured was said to be critical.

Old rivalry

The families of Tipu and the Butts have decades-old rivalry in alleged underworld circles of Lahore. They were at the top of 20 ‘gangsters’ of the city when the Lahore police had launched a crackdown in 2021 under the command of the then CCPO Ghulam Mahmood Dogar.

Gogi Butt was arrested under the anti-terrorism charges.

The gruesome killing of young Ameer Balaj shocked the underworld community, his family, relatives and the close circles besides the traders as he was also owner of a prominent goods transport network. The people associated with the crime circles fear that the murder of Balaj may lead to a new era of ‘killings’ between these two groups/families.

Shooting at wedding

About the background of the murder incident, a police source said the suspected killer who was shot dead in the crossfire was identified as Muzaffar Hussain, a resident of Sheikhupura district. He said police had found his mobile phone and some documents that helped them to identify him.

The official said the suspect was a stranger to all the participants in the wedding party, strengthening the doubts that he had disguised himself as a guest and reached Ameer Balaj.

Lahore Investigation DIG Imran Kishwar told Dawn the police had found some evidence, which linked the murder case of Balaj to Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt. He said some personal diary written by the suspected killer shot dead on the spot during crossfire had useful information for police to lay hands on the two suspects nominated in the FIR.

To a question, the DIG said Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt had gone underground soon after the assassination of Balaj but police were trying to trace and arrest them.

Another police official said Balaj’s uncle, Shakeel Butt, a sub-inspector in the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), was also present on the occasion. He said Balaj had received death threats some eight months back, forcing him to leave the country for a brief period. As he arrived back recently, he had declared on social media that he and his family had settled differences/enmities with all the rivals in Lahore except one which was ‘inherited from his elders,’ a probable reference to Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt. He was strictly advised by his uncle Shakeel Butt, family members and friends in his close circles to be careful in attending the ceremonies in public. Shakeel had reportedly shown his displeasure when he came to know that Balaj had arrived in the wedding ceremony despite facing serious life threats by his rivals.

Third-generation murder victim

Balaj’s family has a history of enmities for at least three generations as his grandfather Ameeruddin alias Billa Truckanwala was also engaged in the feud and he had fallen victim to the enmity in 1998. Balaj’s father Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala was shot dead by his rivals in 2010. Balaj was of the third generation that fell victim to the gang rivalry.

According to the reports, Balaj had recently joined the PML-N after quitting the PTI.

Sharing the background to the gangsters of Lahore, a police official said the provincial capital had been in the spotlight for many decades when several underworld dons terrorised the Lahoriites, particularly, in the second tenure of Shehbaz Sharif as the chief minister in 2008.

He alleged the prime suspects nominated in the murder case of Ameer Balaj, namely Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt, were also among the top underworld dons besides Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala and many others. Some of them were killed by their rivals while others were shot dead in alleged ‘staged encounters’ during the tenure of Shehbaz Sharif.

Prominent among them were Saqib Langra, Mubeen Butt, Aslam Bassa and Naveed Lumbiwala.

About Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala, the officer said he had no particular criminal record but had enmities with many groups of the walled city of Lahore.

With the passage of time, the police officer said, some underworld dons joined political parties to seek shelter of the senior ruling political figures to avoid criminal cases. He said Gogi Butt and Teefi Butt were also among those who resumed political activities. However, they kept on ruling the city’s crime world by expanding their networks.

Some gangsters of the city, like the Butts, feared that as Balaj would assume significance and they were feeling threatened that he might pose challenges to them in the future.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2024