Shooter of Harish Rawat gang held

The Delhi police crime branch on Monday arrested ill- famed sharpshooter of Hitender Singh Rawat gang. The accused was carrying a reward of ` 1 lakh on his head.

The police claimed to have recovered a pistol, three live cartridges and a stolen motorcycle from his possession.

The accused, identified as Deepak ( 35) alias Praveen Koli alias Pappi alias Sanil, is a resident of Rohini, Delhi.

The shooter had been on interim bail for a period of three weeks, which was granted by the Delhi high court on March 20.

The shooter had jumped the interim bail, the police said.

The police received a tip - off that some members of the Chhotu gang were regrouping and planning to commit a spate of robberies in Delhi- NCR.

Acting on the information, the police laid a trap for him at Begam Pur Chowk. The accused was riding a motorbike and upon seeing the police brandished a pistol and tried to flee. However, after a brief scuffle he was apprehended and arrested.

During interrogation, the sharpshooter confessed to being involved in the murder case of Vjay Yadav alias Bijji, a bad character of Hauz Khas. Vijay used to extort money from builders in the Old Delhi area.

Fed up, the builders hatched a plan to kill him. The builders gave him a contract of one crore rupees to Hitender Singh Rawat alias Chhotu to eliminate him.

The murder was committed on September 29, 2007 by roping 10 hardcore criminals involving Deepak.

The Chhotu gang is involved in over a dozen cases of armed robberies and murders.