The Haryana Police STF has arrested most wanted gangster Sampat Nehra of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang from Hyderabad, police said on Thursday.

Special Task Force's (STF) Superintendent of Police Ashwin told the media here that Nehra, 28, was arrested from Venkataraman Colony in Sahibabad area late on Wednesday evening.

The sharpshooter has more than two dozen criminal cases pending against him in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chandigarh.

Haryana Police had announced Rs 1 lakh reward on him, with Rs 50,000 each announced by Rajasthan and Punjab Police.

Ashwin said that Nehra, hailing from Kalauri village in Churu district of Rajasthan, was wanted for heinous crime, including 12 murders, six attempted murders, two extortions, and five dacoity and robbery cases.

"He was actively involved in contract killing. He had been active in student politics. The gang is active on the social media as well," the officer said. 

According to reports, Nehra studies in Panjab University in Chandigarh, where he was also the campus chairman of the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU).

Nehra will be brought from Hyderabad on transit remand, Ashwin said.

"The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is involved in attempted murder of an INLD ex-MLA's brother, demand of ransom of Rs 3 crore from one Ashwani Kumar, owner of medical stores in Chandigarh, firing at police to free accomplice Deepak from custody and killing a person in Punjab after snatching his Ford Endeavour SUV at gunpoint in Kurukshetra area," he said.

The gangster had also threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

In April this year, the Chandigarh police booked Sampat Nehra for allegedly making extortion threats to the owner of Kumar Brothers, a leading medical store in the city, demanding up to Rs 1 crore.

The city police later registered a case under Section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

IANS inputs