After years of evading law enforcement, Zoya Khan, the wife of notorious gangster Hashim Baba, has finally been arrested. The Delhi Police Special Cell apprehended the 33-year-old in the Welcome area of North East Delhi, recovering 270 grams of heroin valued at approximately Rs 1 crore in the international market.
Zoya Khan, often referred to as the ‘Lady Don’ of Delhi, played a pivotal role in running her husband’s criminal operations while he remained behind bars. Despite being under police surveillance for years, she had successfully avoided direct involvement in illegal activities—until her recent arrest.
Married to Hashim Baba since 2017, Zoya is his third wife. Before their marriage, she was married to another man but later divorced him. It was only after her association with Hashim—who was her neighbour in North East Delhi—that she became deeply involved in the world of organised crime.
Following Baba’s incarceration, Zoya stepped into his shoes, running extortion rackets and managing drug distribution networks. Her rise to power has drawn comparisons to Haseena Parkar, the sister of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who once controlled his criminal empire in Mumbai.
Lavish lifestyle and coded communication
Unlike conventional crime syndicate leaders, Zoya maintained a high-profile lifestyle, attending exclusive parties and flaunting luxury brands. Despite her involvement in organised crime, she managed to present an image of affluence and legitimacy.
Investigations have revealed that Zoya frequently visited Baba at Tihar Jail, where he allegedly trained her in sophisticated methods of coded communication. Using encrypted messages and secret phrases, Baba instructed her on running the gang’s finances and criminal operations. She remained in direct contact with gang members and criminals operating outside prison walls.
Despite multiple attempts by law enforcement agencies to capture her, Zoya successfully evaded arrest until now. Acting on a well-coordinated tip-off, the Delhi Police Special Cell launched a raid in the Welcome area of North East Delhi, where she was caught red-handed with a large heroin consignment.
Reports indicate that the drugs were sourced from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and were intended for distribution across Delhi.
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Links to high-profile crimes
Zoya Khan’s criminal empire extended beyond drug trafficking and extortion. Police sources suggest she provided shelter to shooters involved in the high-profile murder of Nadir Shah, a well-known gym owner from South Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash-1 area. Shah was assassinated in September 2024, and Zoya was recently interrogated by the Special Cell at its Lodhi Colony office regarding her role in the case.
Zoya’s criminal background is not limited to her association with Hashim Baba. Her mother was arrested in 2024 for alleged involvement in a sex trafficking ring and is currently out on bail. Additionally, her father has long been under suspicion for his ties to drug trafficking networks.
Operating primarily from Usmanpur, Zoya was constantly surrounded by armed gang members—loyalists of her husband. North East Delhi has long been a hotbed of organised crime, with gangs such as the Chhenu gang, the Hashim Baba gang, and the Nasir Pehelwan gang competing for control. Initially focused on drug trafficking, these groups have been locked in violent turf wars since 2007.
Hashim Baba’s gang generated substantial revenue through extortion, much of which was funneled to Zoya to manage the operations. Baba’s name has also surfaced in the investigation of Nadir Shah’s murder, where he allegedly confessed to his involvement and pointed to links with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Bishnoi, who is accused of orchestrating the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala and the shooting outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence, is known to operate a vast network of contract killers. Police sources indicate that Baba and Bishnoi established contact in 2021 while incarcerated in separate jails.
Despite their confinement, the two gangsters remained in touch through illegal mobile networks and coordinated criminal activities from behind bars.
With Zoya Khan’s arrest, the Delhi Police Special Cell is intensifying its probe into her criminal network. Authorities are investigating her financial records, suspected money laundering activities, and possible connections to other organised crime syndicates. Law enforcement agencies are also monitoring her potential ties to international drug cartels.
Zoya’s arrest marks a significant breakthrough for law enforcement, dealing a major blow to organized crime in North East Delhi. However, officials acknowledge that dismantling the extensive network built by Zoya and Hashim Baba will require sustained efforts.
As investigations continue, the police remain focused on cracking down on the remnants of her gang and ensuring that the criminal empire she controlled is permanently dismantled.
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