3 held for Ranhola double murder

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s special cell on Thursday nabbed three men who they claimed were involved in the murder of two youngsters who were found shot in outer Delhi’s Ranhola earlier this week.

Police said that the actual target of the killers was a man named Sachin Thapa, an alleged local extortionist who escaped unhurt in the attack.

The killings were carried out to avenge an assault that had taken place three weeks earlier, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell).

The bullet-ridden bodies of Deepak and Neeraj, both 21, were found along the divider of the Nangloi-najafgarh Road around 10pm on Sunday.

Local police had initially suspected that the bodies were dumped at the spot and the men were killed elsewhere. But the presence of empty bullet shells at the spot compelled investigators to dismiss the theory. Deepak’s family, meanwhile, had suspected the role of a neighbour with whom he was allegedly been involved in a quarrel over parking space days earlier.

But when the special cell took over the probe, they focused on the role of Sachin Thapa, the friend of the deceased who survived. Further probe revealed that Thapa and Neeraj were allegedly drug addicts who extorted money from locals.

“On December 16, Thapa and Neeraj had tried to extort a man named Deepak Tiwari. When Tiwari refused to part with his money, he was thrashed and left injured,” said DCP Yadav.

Tiwari had approached the police who got him medically examined and registered a case against Thapa based on his complaint, said Yadav. “But Thapa was pressuring him to withdraw the case,” said Yadav.

Tiwari instead hatched other plans. “He wanted revenge against Thapa and asked his brother and friends to join him for killing Thapa,” said Yadav.

The special cell said that Tiwari and the other two suspects were arrested from Kakrola in Dwarka on Wednesday evening.