Man shot dead near daughter’s grave

NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old property dealer was shot dead, allegedly by four unidentified assailants, in a cemetery where he was offering prayer at his daughter’s grave, in northeast Delhi’s Welcome on Friday afternoon, police said.

According to police, the assailants fired as many as 15 rounds, of which at least seven hit the victim, identified as Mehfooz Khan, on his head, chest, abdomen and arms.

A case of murder has been registered at Welcome police station, police maintained.

The firing, and the subsequent murder, in the graveyard led to massive panic in the area following which a team of policemen were deployed to ensure that the law-and-order situation does not get out of hand. Police officers privy to the details of the case said they have activated their human intelligence networks to gather clues about the suspects and the motive behind the murder.

According to preliminary probe, police officers said, the reason behind the murder was personal enmity.

Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (northeast), said the deceased property dealer had two police cases in his name — a murder case from 2014 and an attempt to murder case from 2013. “A case has been registered and we are probing it from all possible angles,” Thakur said.

Police said Khan lived with his wife, two children and other family members at Welcome home. He had another daughter, who died of an illness two years ago, when she was just three years old. On Friday around 2 pm, Khan had gone to the local cemetery to offer prayer at his daughter’s grave.

“Khan was reciting a prayer when four men arrived, opened fire at him and fled. Some locals heard the gunshots and went to the cemetery, where they found an unconscious Khan lying in a pool of blood. They rushed him to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival,” said a police officer associated with the case.

DCP Thakur said they have not found any CCTV camera footage pertaining to the crime from the area. The roles of some people who had an enmity with Khan, are being probed by the police. Some of them were questioned throughout the day.