Notorious gangster Khawaja Tareef Butt, alias Teefi Butt, was killed in an alleged gun battle with police in the early hours of Saturday in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district.

Police sources earlier stated that Teefi Butt had initially fled to Glasgow (UK) soon after the murder of Ameer Balaj Tipu. During the course of the investigation, police arrested Ameer Balaj’s close friend, Ahsan Shah, for giving information to Butt and his gangsters about the movement of his friend.

More recently, Teefi Butt travelled to Dubai for renewal of his London visa after it expired, which ultimately led to his capture.

The CCD had also formally requested the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) to transfer the investigation of the Ameer Balaj murder case to them. The case was originally registered at Chuhng Police Station.

Ameer Balaj was killed during a marriage ceremony in February 2024. Teefi Butt and Aqeel Butt alias Gogi Butt were nominated in the case. Gogi Butt is currently out on bail and Teefi Butt was declared an absconder.

A statement from the CCD today stated that Teefi Butt, who had been arrested in Dubai earlier with the aid of Interpol, had landed at Karachi Airport a day prior and was handed over to CCD custody, who were to transport him to Lahore by road.

“When the CCD team reached near Sanjarpur, District Rahim Yar Khan, in the wee hours of 11th October, a number of armed assailants intercepted the CCD vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire,” the statement claimed.

During the gun battle, a CCD officer sustained serious bullet injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The suspects allegedly freed Teefi Butt and fled the scene. Local police and CCD officers were immediately notified, according to the statement.

“At around [5am], the Rahim Yar Khan CCD team spotted two suspicious vehicles and tried to intercept them. A heavy exchange of gunfire ensued between the CCD team and the assailants, lasting for about 20 to 25 minutes,” the statement added.

“One person was found seriously injured at the scene [and] he succumbed to his injuries while being evacuated to a local hospital by the CCD team. Later on, he was identified as Khawaja Tareef Butt alias Teefi Butt.”

The statement added that another policeman sustained serious injuries during the gunfight and was transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

“Multiple teams from both the local police and Rahim Yar Khan CCD are actively pursuing those involved in the attack, injuring two police officials and the killing of Khawaja Tareef Butt alias Teefi Butt,” the statement read, adding that further investigation was underway.

Old rivalry

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

Gogi Butt was earlier arrested under anti-terrorism charges.

Ameer Balaj’s grandfather Ameeruddin alias Billa Truckanwala was also engaged in the feud and he had fallen victim to the enmity in 1998. Ameer Balaj’s father Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala was shot dead by his rivals in 2010 and he was the third generation that fell victim to the gang rivalry.

According to the reports, Ameer 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 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.

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 in Lahore.

With the passage of time, the police officer said, some underworld dons joined political parties to seek shelter under the 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 Ameer Balaj would assume significance, he might pose challenges to them in the future.

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 the owner of a prominent goods transport network.

The people associated with the crime circles fear that the murder of Ameer Balaj may lead to a new era of ‘killings’ between these two groups/families.

Concerns over CCD ‘encounters’

Earlier in July, the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar to review the encounters being carried out by CCD.

LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, hearing a case in connection with a woman’s petition against the killing of her son in an alleged CCD encounter, noted that the high court was receiving 50 petitions daily regarding fake police encounters and observed that the current wave of CCD encounters must be assessed.

The chief justice also instructed the IGP to conduct a thorough review of the ongoing encounters and ensure that such fake encounters were not repeated in the future.

She observed that “Whenever there is firing, the bullet is so intelligent that it never hits a police official or vehicle“. The chief justice further stated that the FIRs of all alleged police encounters follow the same pattern.