- author, Tarhab Asghar
- position, BBC Urdu, Lahore
When 65-year-old Mohammad Javed left home to pick up his son’s children from school on Monday afternoon, it was an ordinary day.
After about half an hour of travel, his car stopped at a signal near Shah Jamal on Lahore’s busy Canal Road, perhaps he didn’t know what was going to happen in the next few moments.
Just as he was waiting for the signal to open, two motorcycles stopped on the right side of his car. The persons riding on these two motorcycles had weapons in their hands which turned towards the car of Muhammad Javed sitting on the driving seat.
Mohammad Javed, who was hit by the firing, died on the spot, while his wife, who was in the car, was seriously injured.
According to the FIR of this incident and the statement of the Lahore Police, this incident of murder that happened in broad daylight in a city like Lahore was not an ordinary crime, but its fabric is linked to the decades-old rivalry of the city’s underworld, in which Many people have been killed so far.
In this rivalry, on one side is the family of Tipu Turkanwala and on the other side, the characters named Tefi and Gogi Butt, and this is the second such incident in the last few days, after which there are concerns in Lahore that there is a conflict between these people. A new and deadly turn has come, the effects of which can be seen on the streets of Lahore.
Who was Muhammad Javed, what was his connection with this underworld and what is the position of the police? Do you already know what is said in the FIR of the case?
‘The mother saw the accused herself’
The FIR of this incident has been registered in the custody of Hamza Javed, son of the victim, in the Ichhra police station of Lahore, according to which Muhammad Javed, along with his 60-year-old wife, had left to pick up the children from school at half past one in their intercooler car.
According to the FIR, when the vehicle stopped at Shah Jamal’s sign at around two o’clock, armed men on two motorcycles fired directly from the right side of the vehicle, as a result of which Muhammad Javed was shot on the right side of the body. He was killed on the spot while his mother was also shot on the right shoulder near the arm and on the right leg near the shin.
In the footage released after the incident, a man can be seen covered in blood on the driver’s seat of the car with one hand on the steering wheel. According to the preliminary post-mortem report, Mohammad Javed was hit by five bullets.
The complainant in the FIR has said that her mother was taken to Services Hospital but “she was conscious and she saw and recognized the accused.”
According to police sources, one of the two accused named in the FIR is Ameer Balaj’s brother and the other is his friend.
It may be noted that Amir Balaj Tipu, who belongs to the ‘Tirkanwala’ family living on Circular Road in Inner Lahore, was shot dead in February when he was entering a private area of a posh area of Lahore with his traditional security fence. Attended a friend’s wedding in a housing society.
After this incident, Balaj’s brother, Amir Musab, blamed Khawaja Tafifi alias Tefi Butt and Khawaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt for the murder.
Who was Muhammad Javed?
After this incident, the deceased was linked to the underworld on social media. When BBC contacted Lahore Police CCPO Bilal Kamiana about this, he said that ‘the deceased Javed Butt was the brother-in-law of Tafi and Gogi Butt.’
CCPO Lahore Bilal Kamiana said that according to his preliminary information, Javed Butt was killed on the basis of personal enmity in this incident and so far it seems that this case is connected with this murder. in which Amir Balaj was killed.
According to CCPO Lahore Bilal Kamiana, ‘Javed Butt was Tafi and Gogi Butt’s brother-in-law and also looked after all their financial affairs.’
However, he clarified that ‘Muhammad Javed Butt had nothing to do with any gang war. Apparently this person was noble but was killed due to kinship in the rivalry.’
Bilal Kamiana said that further research is being done in this case only after which the real accused can be identified.
He said that ‘the police are currently looking for the shooters.’
He said that ‘after this incident, it would be wrong to say that a gang war has started in Lahore.’
However, he said that ‘so far, all the murders related to this case are taking place under the guise of revenge and enmity.’
It should be noted that this is the second murder related to the same rivalry in the last few days.
Just this month, Lahore Police’s Organized Crime Unit (CIA) DIG Imran Kishor had claimed that Ahsan Shah, the accused in the murder of Amir Balaj Tipu, had been shot dead by his colleagues. However, his family has rejected this and termed the incident as an ‘unlawful murder’.
The police claimed that they were ‘taking the accused to Shad Bagh police station for identification and arrest of co-accused’ during which Ahsan Shah’s associates fired indiscriminately on the police party to rescue him.
The fabric of all these incidents is linked to the rivalry that started in the inner city. Who are Gogi Butt and Tefi Butt and what is their enmity with Truckan Wala?
Rivalry and the ‘Rise’ of Tipu Truckanwala
According to a report published in February 2024 by BBC Correspondent Umar Daraz, the foundation for the Truckanwala family’s enmity with some of the major figures in the alleged ‘underworld’ within Lahore was laid after the killing of Billa Truckanwala.
Lahore-based journalist and analyst Majid Nizami says that the family known as Turkanwala is mainly Kashmiri and many famous wrestlers have passed through them. “It is settled in the area outside the Shah Alam Gate of Lahore, commonly known as Shah Alami.”
They also have an extensive goods transport business and this is probably where ‘Tirkanwala’ was added to their names.
Majid Nizami says that Amir Balaj Tipu’s grandfather Billa Tarkanwala got married in the family in which Pakistan’s famous wrestler Nabi Bakhsh passed away.
According to journalist Majid Nizami, Bila Turkanwala got acquainted with the ‘underworld’ of Lahore during that period in such a way that advertisers used to take refuge in his tent and then he used these advertisers for his work.
But most of these acts were petty crimes, mostly dealing with shoplifting. Or there were incidents of ‘misbehavior and fights’ etc. However, it escalated to such an extent that a murder took place at the hands of his men.
In this incident, the name of Billa Tarkanwala’s young son Tipu Tarkanwala was coming up. The murder and the subsequent events connected with it changed the course of life for the Turkanwala family forever, but there are differing opinions regarding some of the facts.
According to journalist Majid Nizami, it was a murder incident and the name of Billa Turkanwala’s son Arif Amir alias Tipu Turkanwala was coming in his case. Bila Truckanwala had two trusted employees whose names are said to be Hanif Baba and Shafiq Baba.
Bila Turkanwala withdrew his son’s name from the murder case and gave it to Hanif, on the promise that he would release him later. But Hanif was sentenced and went to jail.
Mian Abid, a Lahore-based journalist associated with Jang and Geo Group, says that ‘when he returned from jail after completing his sentence, he and Shafiq Baba together planned to kill Billa Truckanwala. He was angry that Bula trapped him to save his son and did not release him.
Journalist Mian Abid says that Eid Muhammad, the father of Hanif Baba and Shafiq Baba, was an old employee and colleague of Billa Truckanwala, after his retirement, these two brothers joined him in his place and were his gunmen.
“They first made a couple of attempts to kill Billa which failed and finally one day they succeeded in killing him at his camp,” he says. After killing Billa, they both escaped.
After killing Billa, the murderers of Billa, Hanif and Shafiq, went to the ‘businessmen’ Tafi Butt and Gogi Butt of Gwalmandi area of Lahore and took shelter.
Spectral bit and gooey bit
Journalist Majid Nizami says that Khwaja Tafifi alias Tefi Butt and Khwaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt were the big names of the underworld in Lahore at that time.
‘They called themselves businessmen while most of them were associated with land and property grabbing and racketeering.’
They say that both of them used to shelter advertisers and criminals in their tents and then used them for their activities. Journalist Mian Abid says that both Tefi Butt and Gogi Butt are paternal brothers.
These two were wanted by the police mostly in cases of illegal possession of land and extortion. These advertisements also sheltered criminals and criminals also worked for them. These advertisements were also used in these battles in the underworld.’
Journalist Majid Nizami says that when Hanif and Shafiq took refuge with them after killing Billa Tarkanwala in the year 1994, Tipu Tarkanwala’s family enmity with them started from there.
“Tipu was smart in this matter, he did not come forward himself but he killed both of them (Hanif and Shafiq). The people of these two gangs used to give information against each other to the police.
Majid Nizami believes that Tipu Truckanwala ‘joined forces and killed them both in a police encounter.’
Journalist Mian Abid says that there is definitely an impression that Tipu Truckanwala was behind the killing in a ‘police encounter’, but ‘because this incident was declared as a police encounter, it will be said that he was killed. The police killed.’
After that, there were several assassination attempts on Tipu Truckanwala in which he survived. Various advertisers and ‘hired shooters’ were also used in these attacks, but the investigation led to Tefi and Gogi Butt’s gangs.
In the year 2003, there was a big attack on Tipu Truckanwala in Lahore Kachhari area. Five of his guards were killed in the attack. He himself got seriously injured and was shifted to the hospital.
Majid Nizami says that the incident was also blamed by Tipu Truckanwala on Tefi and Gogi Butt.
“After this incident, Tipu shifted his family to Dubai and himself went out of the country for some time,” he says.
Once when he returned from Dubai to Lahore, an armed person opened fire on him outside the airport.
He was shifted to hospital but died. Hearing of his death, his family also returned to Lahore from Dubai. They included his eldest son Amir Balaj Tipu, his two younger brothers and a sister.