Who was notorious gangster Teefi Butt?

Pakistani gangster Khawaja Tareef Butt, also known as Teefi Butt, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district.

He was being transported from Karachi after his deportation from the United Arab Emirates, police said on Saturday.

Butt, a well-known gangster in Lahore, was being sought for the murder of Ameer Balaj Tipu, son of notorious Tipu Truckanwala. The murder rekindled a bloody rivalry between the Truckanwala and Butt gangs, a decades-old feud that has claimed several lives, including those of Tipu’s father and grandfather, Billa Truckanwala.

Who is Teefi Butt?

According to Police, Teefi Butt was a feared criminal in Lahore with over dozens of serious charges against him, including the murder of Balaj Tipu. With a 35-year long criminal record and over 70 years of age, Butt had never been taken into custody, courtesy of political patronage and collusion by the police.

The gang war had started in the 1990s when Billa Truckanwala dominated transport business in Lahore. His competitors, the Butt gang, were engaged in land encroachment, extortion, and wrestled over control of places such as Data Darbar.

Billa was murdered in 1994 by his own men, Shafiq and Hanif, who were subsequently harbored by Teefi Butt, raising doubts about his implication. Billa’s son, Tipu, subsequently took over the gang and developed the business. Shafiq and Hanif were subsequently murdered in a police shootout, allegedly on Tipu’s instructions.

Tipu was subsequently assassinated in 2010. His successor, Ameer Balaj, took charge but was killed in 2024 at a wedding by a gunman affiliated with Teefi. With Balaj’s death, his brothers retired from criminality, and this ended the life of the Truckanwala gang.