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Notorious gangster Sundar Bhati, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Samajwadi Party leader Harendra Nagar and his gunner Bhudev Sharma, has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court and has since gone underground.
Following his release from Sonbhadra jail, reports indicate that Bhati discreetly boarded a flight from Varanasi to Delhi. He is believed to be in hiding in Haryana, with a Special Task Force (STF) team from western Uttar Pradesh closely tracking his movements.
Bhati, considered one of the most influential gangsters in western Uttar Pradesh, hails from Ghanghola village in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district and has over 60 criminal cases against him, including murder, attempted murder, extortion, robbery, and assault.
Before his detention in Sonbhadra, Bhati was held at Hamirpur jail, where he reportedly established a connection with Sunny, one of three gunmen accused in the murder of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj in April 2023. It is alleged that Bhati recruited Sunny into his network.
Bhati’s name has emerged in investigations related to the Atiq-Ashraf case, with some reports suggesting he facilitated the supply of Zigana pistols—foreign semi-automatic firearms manufactured in Turkey—to the shooters involved.
After Sunny’s release from Hamirpur jail, he allegedly maintained contact with Bhati’s associates, ultimately obtaining a Zigana pistol through Bhati’s network.
Bhati’s influence reportedly increased following the encounter killing of his rival, Anil Dujana, in May 2023, just a month after the Atiq-Ashraf murder case. Following Dujana’s death, Bhati is believed to have attempted to expand his control over the scrap business in western Uttar Pradesh.
In 2015, Bhati and his associates fatally shot SP leader Harendra Nagar and his gunner during a wedding event in Greater Noida.
