Two arrested in Delhi factory firing case

Two 19-year-old youths have been arrested from Andhra Pradesh in connection with a recent firing incident outside a factory in northwest Delhi’s Pooth Khurd village, with police probing their alleged links with gangster Nitin Dabas alias Vicky Hadal and an organised criminal network.

The incident took place on October 19, when the two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly fired multiple rounds at a car and the main iron gate of a tiles godown opposite a helmet-manufacturing factory in the area.

The arrests come just days after two persons with alleged links to Dabas were arrested here in connection with firing at a businessman’s building in Kirti Nagar on October 20 after he received extortion calls.

Complainant Abhay Jain (27) told police that he was inside his factory when he heard gunshots on October 19. On coming outside, he allegedly saw the two men firing at his silver Hyundai Aura and the godown gate before fleeing.

Police registered a case at the Bawana police station the following day. During the investigation, police analysed CCTV footage and call detail records, which helped them trace the suspects to Andhra Pradesh.

“The accused, Arun Sharma and Suraj, both residents of Sultanpur Dabas village in Delhi, were arrested from a dance studio in the Narasannapeta area of Srikakulam district with the assistance of local police on Friday,” a senior police officer said. Preliminary investigation suggested that Arun allegedly contacted Dabas through social media and later communicated with him through a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application, the officer said.

Dabas allegedly directed the two men to collect weapons and money from a location in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh and identify targets. Police are examining his alleged communication with them during the firing incident.

Police are analysing digital evidence to establish the motive, trace the weapon’s source and ascertain the roles of others involved.