In a sensational incident of gang war that took place on Sunday morning in Narela area of outer Delhi, a notorious ganglord Virendra Mann aka Kale was killed. Kale was earlier part of infamous Neeraj Bawnia gang and was involved in over a dozen cases of extortion and murder.
According to sources, the criminals who were reportedly following Kale, opened indiscriminate firing upon him. He was hit by 26 bullets and his car was riddled with bullets.
Kale, 45, was driving his white Hundai car and was passing through Lampur Road around 10.45 am on Sunday, when he was waylaid by members of his rival gang. Before he could react, 10 heavily armed criminals surrounded his car and opened fire from a very close range. His body was riddled with bullets and he succumbed to injuries on the spot. Police sources confirmed that criminals pumped 26 bullets into him.
A police official tasked with the investigation said assailants were in a Swift car and managed to flee from the spot by the time police were informed about the incident.
Preliminary investigation has led police to believe that the murder was carried out over a plot of land.
The involvement of rival gangs of Tillu and Gogi is also being investigated.
“Four-five miscreants came in a vehicle and started firing at Mann’s car, who was on his way to meet a relative, near the Narela Industrial Area. It seems he was killed due to some old enmity,” said Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Outer North district Gaurav Sharma.
A case has been registered and the police have decided to scan CCTV footage to identify the killers. Meanwhile, the body has been sent to mortuary for the post-mortem examination. “We may get fresh leads about the nature of weapons used by the gangsters to murder Kale. The caliber of bullets will be analysed with that of the modus operandi of the various gangs that use such weapons,” said a police official.
Kale had contested Delhi Assembly elections from Narela Assembly seat in 2013 on the ticket of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He had contested municipal elections too and had links with various political party. A resident of Kheda Khurd village, Kale was also a listed Bad Character (BC) of Narela police station.
Family members of Kale alleged that political rivalry was the reason behind the murder as Kale was preparing to contest upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and was already in talk with the leaders of a political party.