Robbers who shot dead businessman for resisting snatching caught

NEWDELHI: Almost a month after a businessman was shot dead in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar for taking on a group of robbers, the police arrested two men for the crime.

The only clue with police was that the robbers used two motorcycles, one of which was a Yamaha R15. The investigators verified details of around 2,000 Yahama R15 motorcycles before finally zeroing in on the culprits, said Milind Dumbere, DCP (north-west).

The murdered businessman, 42-year-old Sanjeev Gajwani, lived with his family in Ashok Vihar and manufactured hosiery fabric. On weekends, Gajwani would take home around ₹4-5 lakh cash in a handbag. One of the robbers knew it and roped in three of his friends to rob Gajwani, said police. But Gajwani did not turn up at work on the weekend when the robbery was initially planned. The robbery was postponed to August 22, a Tuesday. That day, Gajwani was carrying just ₹50,000 in his bag.

As Gajwani left his workplace on a scooty, the four robbers followed him on two motorcycles. They struck just as Gajwani had parked his scooty and was walking to his home in Ashok Vihar Phase 2. Interrogation of the robbers revealed that the plan was to snatch Gajwani’s handbag by firing in the air. But Gajwani chased them, caught up with the snatchers and tried to take back his bag.

As Gajwani scuffled with the pillion rider on the motorcycle, one robber pulled out a pistol and shot the businessman in his throat. The robbers sped away, leaving Gajwani bleeding.

He was declared brought dead at a hospital.

Police probe revealed that one of the bikes was a white Yahama R15. Police sought the transport department’s help in seeking details of 2,000 similar bikes. Police said they nabbed two suspects, Sanjay and Dalip Singh, after they received a tip-off about a criminal of that description visiting Bharat Nagar. A hunt is on for the other two suspects.