The Delhi Police has arrested two members of Salman Tyagi gang for allegedly firing outside two shops for extorting money from the owners in west Delhi’s Subhash Nagar area. According to police, the accused have been identified as Deepanshu (21), a resident of Vishnu Garden, and Moinuddin alias Salman (21), a resident of Tihar Village.

On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, two firing incidents took place in the Rajouri Garden area, police said.  In the first incident, Deepanshu and Moinuddin came to a restaurant in Subash Nagar on a scooter and fired two rounds on the flex board of the restaurant. Five minutes later, they reached another shop and fired three rounds there, they said.

 It was found that the firing incidents took place over extortion demand of `50 lakhs each from the owners of the shops, they said.

 During the investigation, over 200 CCTV cameras were checked and analysed. Police got a tip-off that the accused persons would come near Mayapuri Metro Station to meet someone, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said.

 A trap was laid and Moinuddin was apprehended. Later, Deepanshu, who was the pillion rider and had fired the bullets, was also nabbed near Pacific Mall, Subhash Nagar, Yadav said. Deepanshu disclosed that he is a close associate of Salman Tyagi, who is currently lodged in Mandoli Jail. He keeps meeting Tyagi in jail, police said.

 During one of his visits last week, Tyagi arranged weapons and instructed him to make an extortion demand of `50 lakh from each businessman, police said At the behest of Tyagi, both the accused opened fire in front of the victims’ shops, they said.

 Tyagi is lodged in Mandoli Jail in several cases of murder and extortion. Over 25 heinous cases are registered against him, police said.

 He and his associates killed a businessman Ajay Choudhary of Keshopur Mandi. It is believed that Tyagi has recently switched sides and joined hands with Naresh Sethi-Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Binshnoi gang. He was earlier a close associate of gangster Neeraj Bawania, police said.