Gangsters who were planning to kill rival held in Vasant Gaon
BUSTED Two are relatives of gang lord Shakti Naidu, cops recover 11 firearms, including 4 foreignmade guns, and 40 cartridges from them
NEWDELHI: Three members of the Shakti Naidu gang, including two of Naidu’s relatives, have been arrested from south Delhi’s Vasant Gaon on Wednesday. The police recovered 11 illegal firearms, including four pistols allegedly manufactured in US, Japan, Italy and England, and 40 cartridges from them.
Chinmoy Biswal, additional DCP (south), said the suspects were allegedly preparing to carry out the killing of a complainant in a rival’s murder case that happened in August this year.
Shiv Shakti Naidu is among the most notorious gangsters in south Delhi, but is currently lodged in Tihar Jail from where he runs his gang, said Biswal.
He came to limelight after he and his men allegedly carried out the Lajpat Nagar dacoity of ₹7.70 crore – the biggest in Delhi in terms of money.
The arrest of the three men happened around 5.30pm on Tuesday, barely hours after a shootout between the police and criminals near Dwarka Mor Metro station. The Dwarka incident had ended in the arrest of five suspects and the recovery of 17 illegal firearms.
But the Vasant Gaon arrests did not involve any exchange of fire, said police.
“The three men were possibly waiting for someone outside their black Scorpio car, but when we surrounded them, they rushed back to their vehicle. We caught them before they could shoot at us,” said the officer.
The arrested men have been identified as Ajay Nagarwal, Shiv Raj and Singh Ram. While Nagarwal is Naidu’s nephew, Raj is the gangster’s cousin. Nagarwal is one of the co-accused in the Lajpat Nagar dacoity and had spent nearly two years in jail. Ram is a property dealer but also working as Naidu’s sharpshooter, police said. Shiv Shakti Naidu, 37, is among the most notorious gangsters operating in south Delhi. Police say his gang is actively involved in gambling, bootlegging, drugs and arms peddling
Naidu came to limelight in 2014 when he and his men allegedly carried out Delhi’s biggest dacoity in terms of money In January 2014, a group of eight people robbed a businessman of ₹7.70 crore cash near Lajpat Nagar on gunpoint, taking away the car in which he was travelling to deposit the money in a bank
Naidu is currently in Tihar Jail in connection with the case. But he is allegedly involved in rivalries inside as well as outside the jail
The three were allegedly among a group of men who gunned down Kanakrattnam – a member of the rival Rohit Chaudhary gang – in Ambedkar Nagar on August 1. The murder was among a series of killings and assaults by members of the two gangs.
According to DCP (south), Ishwar Singh, Naidu and Chaudhary are both lodged in Tihar Jail where they continue their rivalry. “From jail too, Naidu’s gang has threatened witnesses as He has allegedly been issuing threats as well as ordering contract killings from inside the jail
Naidu was born in Madangir in south Delhi, but is a native of Salem in Tamil Nadu. Police say his family came to Delhi in search of work 40 years ago Naidu initially worked as a garments trader in south Delhi, but allegedly entered the crime world when he learnt of hawala transactions happening in the city
There are at least five heinous criminal cases, such as dacoity and attempt to murder, registered against Naidu. Police say the Lajpat Nagar dacoity gave his gang the much-needed boost
well as awarded contracts for murders in Delhi and nearby areas,” said the DCP.
The Lajpat Nagar dacoity earned Naidu’s gang the muchneeded notoriety, after which he allegedly strengthened his gang and began indulging in money-making crimes such as betting, bootlegging and drugs peddling, police said. The weapons found in the possession of this gang were procured from the neighbouring states, said the additional DCP.