Three killed in two days as gang wars escalate in city

A DAY after two people were gunned down, ostensibly in connection with gang wars in the capital, a 54-year-old retired BSF personnel was shot dead in Bahadurgarh Friday. The victim’s son is lodged in Bhondsi Jail.

Police suspect the murders are connected with a rivalry between two gangs, headed by Manjeet Mahal and Kapil-jyoti Sangwan alias Nandu. According to police, on Thursday, Nandu’s gang members had allegedly killed the mother and cousin of Mahal’s associate Anshul Dhankhad. Friday’s murder was carried out by Mahal’s gang in retaliation, police said.

Sub-inspector Kulbir Singh, in-charge of the Line Par police station, said, “Friday’s incident took place at 1.30 pm when the victim, Naresh Singh, was sitting outside his shop. Bike-borne assailants came and fired two shots at him from close range. Naresh was hit on the head and chest. The assailants managed to flee, leaving the victim in a pool of blood.”

Passersby informed police and the victim was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. “A case was registered following a complaint by the victim’s father-in-law, who alleged Naresh was killed by Mahal’s associates,” Singh said.

Both Nandu and Mahal are currently lodged in jail.

“The victim’s son, Sachin, was a close associate of Nandu. We are coordinating with Delhi Police and are likely to question Mahal, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail,” Singh said.

Sources told The Indian Express that the gang rivalry between Mahal and Nandu took an ugly turn after Sunil alias Doctor, Nandu’s brother-in-law, was murdered allegedly by Mahal’s gang members, in December 2015. In retaliation, Nandu’s gang allegedly killed family members of Mahal’s associates.

“Nandu was desperate to avenge the killing of his brotherin-law and kept pressuring his gang members to kill Mahal’s father. Since 2015, 15 relatives of members both gangs, including Mahal’s father, have been killed,” sources said.

Police investigation has revealed that after the murder of Mahal’s father, his gang members started seeking revenge and went after several members of Nandu’s gang.

Several teams of the special cell and the crime branch have been tasked to crack the case. “Our teams got some vital clues. We are probing all angles, including personal disputes and gang rivalry,” DCP (southwest district) Surendra Kumar said.