Gangs of Wasseypur 3 running successfully

"Hum Mussalmanon ki ye Mahabharat aaj ki nahin hai. Ye to zamaanein se chali aa rahi hai," says narrator Nasir Ahmed (played by Piyush Mishra) in the prelude to Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1. The Mahabharat seems to be continuing to Gangs of Wasseypur Part 3, playing successfully in the coal town of Jharkhand in 2026.

The lead characters in the third part, not part of Anurag Kashyap's directorial, are Prince Khan and Fahim Khan.

Reminiscent of Manoj Bajpai's "Sardar Khan naam hai humara, bata dijiyega sabko" from Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, Prince Khan, a gangster from the coal-town in Jharkhand, introduced himself to a Chatra (Jharkhand)-based businessman and LJP(RV) leader Premchand Singh in December 2025. He tried to extort Rs 2 crore, in a WhatsApp voice note, saying, "Naam yaad rakhna, Prince Khan. Dubai se bol rahe hain".

Police say Prince Khan is now in Pakistan.

Prince Khan's free-flowing dialogue, with a threat to "open Singh's skull", isn't the only parallel between the two Aunrag Kashyap directorials and what's now unfolding in Wasseypur. Some of it is on the ground. Much of the juicy stuff is online. Truth be told, Gangs of Wasseypur 3, whose making had only been the subject of rumours for years, now seems to be running successfully in Jharkhand's Koylanagar, Dhanbad. Wasseypur to be precise.

What's unfolding in Wasseypur now, in 2026, has all the elements of a stunning third instalment of the desi-crime saga, almost 14 years after a Wasseupur-native and one of the film's writers, Zeishan Quadri (who played Definite), narrated it on the big screen. Networks of gangsters and extortionists, claims of coal theft, allegations of a police-criminal nexus, free-flowing expletives and death threats, the unfolding saga has it all.

As of now, Prince Khan, the main character, is on the run. Police said he is in Pakistan and is associated with the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. He has repeatedly called up businesspersons in Dhanbad and in other parts of Jharkhand, and has tried to extort huge sums from them. Some of the threat videos have been uploaded online.

For a few months, the police in Dhanbad have intensified their crackdown on members belonging to Prince Khan's gang. Encounters have been reported, and an aide of Khan has been extradited from the UAE (where Prince earlier migrated to illegally) and arrested. Prince Khan's real name is Haidar Ali, and he is also known by the alias "Chote Sarkar", according to media reports.

Amid the crackdown, Prince Khan last week issued a threat to Dhanbad SSP Prabhat Kumar as if his 'maksad was definite'.

"Listen carefully again, Prabhat Kumar. Don't speak recklessly. Because once I start speaking, you will need alcohol to sleep," said Prince Khan. Calling him "the worst SSP he'd seen", Khan "appealed to the central government to get an ED probe done".

After the fugitive gangster alleged that the police in Dhanbad were colluding with coal and land mafias, and threatened to kill the SSP, Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, demanded an NIA probe into the developments in Wasseypur. The BJP leader and the former Jharkhand CM alleged the Jharkhand police of supporting an organised extortion network.

The Jharkhand Police last week raided Khan's Wasseypur residence and attached his properties.

Marandi said that the situation appeared to reflect a "battle for supremacy", which Anurag Kashyap's film called "varchaswa" (dominance).

The parallels of the recent developments between the two films, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Gangs of Wasseypur 2, are difficult to miss.

In his pursuit to establish "varchaswa", Prince Khan, in one of the videos, issued chilling threats to an aide of jailed gangster Fahim Khan (the man widely believed to have inspired Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character Faizal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur).

"Look carefully at these weapons, son. We've brought in one weapon after another. We will unleash such a narsanhaar (massacre) that the entire shyshtum (system) will shake. What do you people think? Will the administration catch us? The day the administration catches me, I will shoot myself dead. Understood?" Prince Khan said in one of the many threat videos.

The viral videos reportedly released by gangster Prince Khan have turned the law-and-order issue into a larger political battle over governance and the credibility of Jharkhand's administration, as the BJP leader highlighted.

DHANBAD POLICE CRACK DOWN ON PRINCE KHAN'S NETWORK AFTER THREAT VIDEOS GO VIRAL

A day after one of the threat videos targeting Dhanbad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prabhat Kumar went viral on social media, the state police intensified their crackdown on absconding gangster Prince Khan by carrying out an attachment and seizure operation at his residence in Wasseypur, reported The Hindu newspaper on May 10.

In one of the videos, Prince Khan threatened SSP Dhanbad, making wild allegations.

"You wear a uniform and extort people. I do it without a uniform. My identity is face. If you step outside without your uniform, even dogs won't recognise you. Whatever you have kept hidden in Delhi, I will expose everything before the public with full proof, understand? You pretend to be a man of honesty here? I've never seen an SSP like you. You threaten businessmen? You tell them that since they have already paid Prince Khan, they should pay you too, otherwise will you put them behind bars in terror funding cases? Will you brand them terrorists?" Prince Khan claimed.

"All the SPs who came before you were not doing this. But you turned out to be the worst SSP. You only care about money. For money, you are crushing poor people, enabling massive coal theft, and getting people killed. How much money will you take with you after death?" he said.

"I appeal to the central government to put the ED behind him. Look at how much money he is making, how much coal theft he is enabling. You are hollowing out the entire coal belt of Jharia," Prince Khan added.

ARRESTED IN APRIL, PRINCE KHAN'S AIDE REVEALED GANGSTER NOW IN PAKISTAN

These developments follow the arrest of an aide of Prince Khan, Saifi alias "Major" in April, reported Dainik Jagran. Saifi, at Prince Khan's behest, allegedly threatened traders and extorted money from businessmen in Dhanbad's Wasseypur and had been a source of fear, The Times of India reported. Saifi alias "Major" was extradited to India from Dubai, in the UAE.

The joint operation of the Jharkhand Police on May 8 was conducted by teams from Bank More police station and Bhuli outpost under heavy police deployment. Officials said the action was taken in accordance with summons and attachment orders issued by the Dhanbad court after Prince Khan's continuous absence during legal proceedings.

"Continuous action is being taken against the Prince Khan gang and its associates... Different cases have been registered against Prince Khan in different matters. As of now, we cannot specify the exact number of cases," said a police officer after the raid on Friday, reported Dhanbad-based local outlet, Har Baat Aap Tak.

A police officer told local media after the Friday raid that Prince Khan has been absconding for a long time and faces multiple criminal cases, including murder, extortion, firing and criminal intimidation, reported The Times of India.

Mind you, the police officer, seemingly a Sub-Inspector, was nothing like Gopal Singh, Dhansar Thana Prabhari, played by Faisal Malik in Gangs of Wasseypur 2. He looked determined, and twirled his moustache, unlike Gopal Singh, who shrugged and said, "Kaa baat kar rahe hain? Kar toh hum waise bhi nahin sakte kuch".

SSP Prabhat Kumar said police action against the Prince Khan gang had been intensified, and strict action was being taken against his associates and aides as well, The Times of India reported.

The Jharkhand Police last week revealed that Saifi alias "Major" had, during an interrogation, revealed that Prince Khan was currently hiding in Pakistan after facing mounting pressure from law enforcement agencies in Dubai. The police claimed that Prince Khan escaped from Dubai with the help of a domestic help of Pakistani origin and was allegedly associated with the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, according to a video story in Prabhat Khabar.

Saifi further revealed internal conflicts within the gang, stating that differences arose after he disagreed with Prince Khan's plan to move to Pakistan. Subsequently, Saifi was replaced by a relative named Adil in the gang hierarchy, reported the outlet.

Gangs of Wsaeeypur 3 is also loaded with guns, not just shooting from the lips.

In one of the videos, a man is seen making a sales pitch of pistols to Prince Khan. The accent of the salesman resembled that of a person from Pakistan's Punjab. For instance, the man was heard saying, "giye hein", instead of what a Hindi-heartland Indian would say, "gaye hain".

The video would remind an avid Wasseypur connoisseur of the scene where Faisal Khan goes gun-shopping in Varanasi.

Weeks before Saifi's extradition and arrest on March 16, three suspected associates of fugitive gangster Prince Khan were injured in a police encounter during a joint operation conducted by the Ranchi and Dhanbad police, reported the Hindustan Times.

BJP FLAGS MAFIA-POLICE NEXUS IN JHARKHAND, EX-CM MARANDI DEMANDS NIA PROBE

The latest storm over crime in Wasseypur erupted after videos of Prince Khan went viral on social media. In a post on X, former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi claimed that the videos had brought "several grave allegations regarding the nexus between the administrative machinery and mafia elements into the public discourse".

The BJP leader later wrote to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the alleged nexus between the police and criminal networks in Dhanbad.

"Recently, notorious gangster Prince Khan released videos from abroad on social media regarding the Dhanbad police, coal theft and extortion network, which have cast serious doubts on the credibility of the State. Two videos have been compiled on a DVD and are being enclosed with this letter so that the government may understand the gravity of the facts presented," Marandi wrote in the letter, reported The Hindu.

"Normally, it is the police who expose criminals, but in Jharkhand, it is gangsters who are exposing the alleged nefarious activities of police officials," Marandi said.

Posting the video on Instagram, the BJP, an Opposition party in Jharkhand, called it a "terrifying nexus between khaki and criminals", which reflected a "mafia-rule".

"The law-and-order situation in Jharkhand has become extremely alarming... The protectors themselves appear to be turning into predators. The BJP has clearly demanded the immediate dismissal of the accused officer and a high-level probe under judicial supervision into the entire matter. The people of Jharkhand will no longer tolerate such hooliganism and administrative collapse. The time for justice and transparency has come," the BJP said on Instagram.

THREAT VIDEOS OF PRINCE KHAN OF WASSEYPUR VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

While the video of Prince Khan threatening SSP Prabhat Kumar has come under the spotlight after being highlighted by Marandi, there are scores of other videos in which the fugitive gangster can be allegedly seen threatening a local stone and sand entrepreneur, a businessman and even a rival gang linked to Fahim Khan.

In the viral video, Prince Khan threatens aides and associates linked to jailed gangster Fahim Khan. He also mocks law enforcement, claiming the administration cannot catch him despite him openly operating from abroad.

"You are a servant, living off leftovers. You're the one who needs bullets, you cripple. Take capsules instead. Because if I launch an attack, you won't even be able to run away. Understood? We, too, are praying for Fahim Khan's release from jail, even more than you people are. We will show you what gang war really means. We will carry out a massacre, a real massacre. Understood?" Prince Khan could be heard saying.

"You wear a skullcap and offer namaz only to impress the public. You people have no fear of Allah. Have you now started praying out of fear of me?" Khan added.

Then, mentioning one of the actors and writers of Aurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, Zeishan Qadri, Prince Khan said, "What were you saying about Zeishan Qadri? What were you saying about his mother and sister? First, protect the honour of your own daughters and nieces, who are roaming around everywhere. You are not troubled by your own suffering. You seek misery in other people's happiness".

"The law's reach still isn’t long enough to get to me. I openly challenge them. Come and catch me if you can. Come to Dubai," said the fugitive gangster. The video must have been from when Prince Khan was based in Dubai.

In another threat video, Prince Khan demanded Rs 2 crore as protection money from a businessman and LJP (RV) leader Premchand Singh, and warned him of violent consequences if the payment wasn't made.

"You're running a lot of [stone] crusher machines, aren't you? Pay Rs 2 crore in protection money, otherwise we'll have your head blown off. We warn people before killing them, and we take responsibility even after it's done. Find out who I am. Watch the news, check Google. There's no need to file any case. We spared you because your son was getting married. Now the wedding is over. Do you want to live to see your grandson or not?" Prince Khan says in the video.

"If you don't pay, be ready to die. It might take some time, but we will kill you for sure. Tell the SP, DIG and the DSP too. Remember the name, Prince Khan from Dubai," he said, just like Sardar Khan would say in Gangs of Wasseypur, "Sardar Khan naam hai humara, bata dijiyega sabko".

While BJP leader Babulal Marandi feared that Jharkhand could descend into a state worse than the "Jungle Raj", the developments in Wasseypur have again drawn attention to the locality in Dhanbad and its long association with coal mafia politics and organised crime. More than a decade after Anurag Kashyap wrapped up Gangs of Wasseypur 2, Prince Khan's threats and the police crackdowns in response, it almost feels as if Gangs of Wasseypur 3 is already running successfully in Jharkhand's Dhanbad.