Prime suspect in Ameer Balaj murder case, Teefi Butt, killed in police encounter in RYK

Notorious Punjab gangster Teefi Butt was killed in an alleged police encounter during his transfer from Dubai to Lahore. His death sparks hope that the 35-year gang war between the Butt gang and the Truckanwala gang in Lahore will finally end.

According to the Crime Control Department (CCD), a gun battle broke out between police and Teefi Butt’s accomplices within the jurisdiction of Kot Sabzal Police Station in Rahim Yar Khan. Teefi Butt had been nominated in the murder case of his rival, Ameer Balaj, who was killed in 2024 during a wedding ceremony in a private housing society in Lahore.

A CCD statement detailed that Teefi Butt was transferred from Dubai to Karachi on the afternoon of October 10. From Karachi Airport, a CCD team was taking him to Lahore by road.

In an FIR registered by the Punjab Police, CCD officials stated that at 3:25 am on Saturday, October 11, while Khawaja Tareef Gulshan, alias Teefi Butt, was being transported to Lahore, two vehicles intercepted the police van and opened fire, injuring the driver, Noor Ali, in the arm.

The CCD reports that police retaliated, but the attackers managed to free Teefi Butt from custody. However, Rahim Yar Khan Police and CCD pursued them, leading to another gun battle at a different location. In that exchange, the attackers abandoned a critically injured Teefi Butt, who was taken to the hospital but succumbed to his wounds before arrival.

Teefi Butt and his cousin, Khawaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt, were both nominated in Ameer Balaj’s murder case. Gogi Butt had secured bail from the court, while Teefi fled to Dubai, where he was declared a proclaimed offender and faced Interpol red notices.

Punjab Police had long been trying to arrest and extradite Teefi Butt from Dubai. Last month, the CCD requested that the investigation of the Balaj murder case be transferred from the Punjab Police’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to the CCD. A week ago, a specialised CCD team arrived in Dubai to secure his extradition.

According to sources, Teefi Butt tried to delay his extradition by creating a financial dispute in Dubai, but police prosecutors resolved the legal hurdles, and Dubai authorities finally approved his transfer to Pakistan.

Punjab Police sources stated that Teefi Butt was considered a symbol of terror in Lahore, with multiple serious criminal cases registered against him, including the Ameer Balaj murder case. Despite being 70 years old with a 35-year criminal career, he had never been arrested, largely due to political protection and collusion between police and gangsters.

The Lahore gang war dates back to the early 1990s when Billa Truckanwala, the grandfather of Ameer Balaj, dominated the city. His main rivals were the Butt gang of Gawalmandi. Billa gained control of the Lorry Adda (truck stand) and loading operations, starting his own goods transport business and earning the title “Billa Truckanwala.”

Meanwhile, the Butt gang sought to expand its control over Lahore through land grabbing, extortion, and intimidation. They also tried to establish dominance around Data Darbar and old Lahore, areas already under Billa Truckanwala’s influence. Both gangs recruited smaller fugitive criminals under their protection, strengthening their networks.

In 1994, Billa Truckanwala was murdered by two of his own associates, Shafiq and Hanif. Teefi Butt gave refuge to both killers and absorbed them into his gang, confirming suspicions that Teefi had orchestrated Billa’s murder.

After Billa’s death, his son Arif Ameer took over and became known as Tipu Truckanwala. Under Tipu’s leadership, the gang grew stronger, and the transport business expanded further. Soon after, Hanif and Shafiq were arrested and later killed in a police encounter, allegedly on Tipu Truckanwala’s orders.

In 2003, Tipu was attacked outside a Lahore court, where five of his associates were killed and he was injured. The attack was blamed on Teefi and Gogi Butt. After the attack, Tipu moved his family to Dubai, distancing them from the criminal world. His three sons and a daughter continued their education, while Tipu frequently travelled between Dubai and Pakistan to manage his business and gang network.

In 2010, upon returning to Lahore from Dubai, Tipu was assassinated in the airport parking area by a waiting gunman. This marked the rise of the third generation of the Truckanwala gang. Tipu’s eldest son, Ameer Balaj, who had been studying in Dubai and had stayed away from the underworld, took over leadership after his father’s death.

On February 18, 2024, Ameer Balaj was shot dead during a wedding ceremony in Lahore. The attacker, posing as a photographer, was a servant of Teefi Butt and was also killed on the spot when Balaj’s guards returned fire. After Balaj’s death, his two brothers chose to leave the criminal world, effectively ending the activities of the Truckanwala gang.

Today, all major figures of the three-decade-long Lahore gang war are dead, except Gogi Butt.