A Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader, who was arrested in connection with a gang war in Aligarh on March 12, has been identified by the police as a history-sheeter.

Armed with guns, two BJYM factions had attacked each other at Sarai Hakim market in Bannadevi in Aligarh city on the evening of March 12. Three people were injured in the clash, and the police arrested 13 people from both sides within four days. The violence had terrorised local shopkeepers, who kept their stores shut for several days.

The BJYM is the youth wing of the BJP.

In a video of the incident that recently went viral on social media, Harshad Hindu, the leader of a BJYM faction and among the 13 arrested, was seen firing indiscriminately at his rivals.

Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, superintendent of police of Aligarh city, told reporters on Saturday: "We have opened the history sheet of Harshad Hindu, who was seen in the video firing on the other group. There are half a dozen cases against him. The police will keep an eye on his movements if he gets bail."

A history sheet is a confidential record maintained by the police to monitor individuals considered habitual offenders or threats to public safety.

Police sources said Shashank Pandit, the leader of the other BJYM faction, was also a history-sheeter in police records.

"We had arrested Harshad and Shashank along with 11 others in connection with the incident. We also recovered four firearms and two Jeeps from them. Seven accused are still at large. They had gathered to celebrate Holi Milan, but ended up firing at each other.

"Harshad is currently the secretary of the Mahanagar unit of BJYM. According to a preliminary investigation, Harshad and Shashank both wanted to become BYJM district president. From arms smuggling to prostitution, they are involved in almost every criminal activity," said a police officer in Lucknow.

The police had initially projected the incident as a fight between two groups and said that there was no video footage of the incident because the CCTVs at the site were out of order. However, an eyewitness had recorded the clash on his mobile phone and circulated the clip on WhatsApp on Friday.

"Both the gangsters are close to senior regional BJP leaders," the officer added.

Those who suffered gunshot injuries in the clash have been identified as Ayush Sharma, Shanu Valmiki and Shoeb Ahmad.

The BJP leaders are silent on the issue but Ashok Chaudhary, a former secretary of the district unit of the BJP, has alleged that the gang war was a result of senior BJP leaders’ fight for supremacy in the organisation.