Delhi police arrest three over firing at jhuggi following personal dispute
Three men, including a suspected mastermind with three previous murder cases, have been arrested for allegedly opening fire at a jhuggi in northwest Delhi's Satsang Colony following a personal dispute over a girl, police said on Tuesday, September 1.
The accused have been identified as Rajesh alias Kana (30), Rohit alias Samosa (23) and Nitin (20), police said.
According to investigators, Rajesh had an ongoing dispute with Arjun, the brother of complainant Dev alias Kake, over a girl who lives in the same locality. Rajesh had allegedly threatened Dev and Arjun earlier.
On August 31, three associates of Rajesh allegedly went to Dev's jhuggi in Satsang Colony looking for Arjun. When Dev told them he did not know where his brother was, they left but returned shortly afterwards, police said.
The men allegedly fired two rounds at the jhuggi and pelted it with bricks and bottles before fleeing. No one was injured in the incident, police said.
A case was registered at Ashok Vihar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act.
During the investigation, police analysed technical and human intelligence and identified Rajesh as the suspected mastermind, taking into account his criminal antecedents.
A key lead emerged when police learnt that one of Rajesh's previous murder cases was scheduled for hearing before a sessions court in Noida on the same day. Acting on the information, a police team conducted a chase covering nearly 100 kilometres and traced the accused to a hotel in Burari, police said.
The team kept the hotel under surveillance for around an hour before raiding the premises and apprehending Rajesh, Rohit and Nitin.
Police also recovered a car registered in Rajesh's name, which was allegedly used in the commission of the crime.
A video recovered from Rohit's mobile phone provided another crucial lead, police said. In the video, Rohit allegedly admitted to the firing and boasted about the incident. He had also shared the video with Rajesh through an online messaging application, investigators said.
During interrogation, Rajesh allegedly told police that he had planned the firing to intimidate Arjun and his family and had the attack carried out through his associates.
Police said Rohit, Nitin and another associate, identified as Ashish, had gone to the locality searching for Arjun. After failing to find him, they allegedly opened fire at Dev's jhuggi.
Rajesh has three previous murder cases against him, registered at Alipur and Mundka police stations in Delhi and Sector 39 police station in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, police said.
Rohit has two previous cases against him, including one involving an alleged attempt to murder and offences under the Arms Act. No previous criminal involvement has been found against Nitin, police added.
