Gurgaon gangster sought help of man he met in jail to kill wife
Jailed gangster Ashok Rathi got his estranged wife killed as he suspected her of infidelity
Jailed gangster Ashok Rathi got his estranged wife killed through a lesser known acquaintance as he suspected her of infidelity, police said on Saturday.
Rathi approached his three acquaintances in the crime world through a person named Chatrapal to kill Sushma, his wife, for ‘honour’. Rathi met Chatrapal at Bhondsi jail and they developed the plan there, police said.
Police arrested three men —Deepak of Singrauli village, Sanjeet of Rathiwas and Lalit Kataria of Biswa village — on Friday. Chatrapal alias Bhuru of Bhodakala village was arrested last week.
All five accused, including Rathi, are in custody and the case has been solved, police said.
Sushma Rathi, 32, was shot dead on September 2, shortly after seeing off her daughter to school in Bhondsi.
Sushma was married to Ashok in 2004 against the wishes of Sushma’s family. They got separated following a discord that started in 2011, when Ashok allegedly tried to grab Sushma’s ancestral land. Ashok, 37, was later convicted of killing Sushma’s brother, Dharmender Kumar, and mother, Anguri Devi, over a property dispute.
Police said, Bhuru, arrested for several theft cases, met Rathi at Bhondsi jail a few months ago. As the duo got to know each other, Rathi sought Bhuru’s help to murder his wife as Bhuru was a lesser known assailant.
“Rathi approached Deepak, Sanjeet and Lalit, who he knew through Bhuru. Bhuru was released from jail three months before the murder,” deputy commissioner of police, crime, Sumit Kuhar, said.
Deepak, Sanjeet and Lalit were convicted of theft, attempt to murder and murder but were released on bail a year ago.
Ashok Rathi of the infamous ‘Rathi Gang’ is serving a life sentence at Bhondsi jail. He is booked in 28 cases of murder, attempted murder, theft and extortion.
“Rathi knew them earlier when they (the three accused) were in jail. They killed Sushma to please Rathi. No money was given to the killers,” Kuhar said. Since Rathi is an accused in the case, he has been taken in custody, police said.
Sources said all accused -- Rathi and the four others -- met at Sohna court during a recent hearing when all of them where still imprisoned to finalise the plan.
Police said the killers had used two vehicles — a Hyundai Santro and a Hyudai I20 —for the crime. The Santro was torched by the attackers to conceal evidence.
A few months ago, Sushma had lodged a police complaint about threats from her jailed husband and his brother.
Ashok Rathi had escaped from police custody on the night of March 24, 2014, but was arrested the next day.