The Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested six people, including the owner of a four-star hotel, in connection with the murder of a 57-year-old estate officer of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on May 16, a day before he was scheduled to pass the final order on the hotel’s lease terms.
“Apprehending an unfavourable order, which would have resulted in huge monetory loss and eviction from the property, the hotel owner, Ramesh Kakkar, hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Khan, who was known to be straight and fair in his job,” Special Commissioner of Police (law & Order/South) P Kamaraj said.
The NDMC had sealed the property last year and resumed its possession after the hotel authorities failed to abide by the eviction order following expiry of the lease. The other party had then taken the matter to the court, police said.
On the direction of the High Court, Khan was made the Estate Officer and he was to pass the final order in the lease matter, which is a quasi-judicial action, on May 17.
Khan’s family claimed that there was tremendous pressure on him from his seniors to waive the penalty of around Rs140 crore imposed on the hotel for violation of license term, a matter which is still being probed by police.
To execute the plan, Kakkar (48) contacted Ram Phool (46) and Israil (31), both former employees (bouncers) at Kakkar’s nightclub in Greater Kailash area, which closed down around five years ago.
The contract for killing was fixed for a mere Rs2 lakh, of which Rs50,000 was paid in advance. Soon, others identified as Saleem Khan (29), Amar Alvi (24), Anwar Omais (21) and Bilal were roped in.
“While six of the accused were arrested, Bilal, who was the first to be identified by police, is absconding,” Joint Commissioner of Police (southeast)RP Upadhyay said.
Saleem, who is a recovery agent by profession, and Amar, a known bad character in Jamia Nagar, allegedly helped with the logistics and were also monitoring the execution of the plan. According to police officials, they are investigating the matter from all angles and some NDMC officials are likely to be questioned.
Police have also come across allegations that the hotel owner had sent his “agents” to bribe the slain official but there was no evidence as yet to substantiate it.
An official privy to the investigation said, “A liaison agent had approached Kakkar earlier this year and claimed that he could settle the matter at less than one-third the amount imposed as penalty. The agent had claimed before Kakkar that he had done a settlement in Chanakyapuri before. When the agent failed to persuade Khan and that the final date for the order approaching fast, Kakkar decided to eliminate the officer. The plan was meticulously given shape in 10 days and May 16 was chosen as the day to go for the kill.”
The gang conducted multiple recce in the area and tracked Khan’s movements for days before shooting him.
During investigation, it emerged that the property on which Connaught hotel is functioning was taken on lease for setting up a 2-star youth hostel but the plan was changed and a hotel came up instead, attracting action from the civic body.
The arrested persons are being interrogated and efforts are on to nab the seventh accused. Also, Rs49,000 of the advance amount has been recovered, DCP (Southeast) M S Randhawa said.