‘Ego battle’ led to avoidable bloodbath on Bawana road

It was any other day for Kaptan Singh and Sahib Singh. They were reversing their three-wheeler goods carrier and heading out to work when they accidentally blocked the way of a local criminal’s speeding luxury sedan at the Sultanpur Dabas village near Bawana around 10 am on Friday morning.

It was any other day for Kaptan Singh and Sahib Singh. They were reversing their three-wheeler goods carrier and heading out to work when they accidentally blocked the way of a local criminal’s speeding luxury sedan at the Sultanpur Dabas village near Bawana around 10 am on Friday morning.

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Minutes later, the siblings were pumped with bullets and left for dead a few steps away from their home.

“Since the accused men were driving very fast, they slammed the brakes suddenly and screeched to a halt. But instead of letting the matter pass, given that no one was hurt, an altercation followed,” said a senior police officer quoting eyewitnesses.

The angered car occupants — the main accused later identified as one Rahul alias Kale — ordered the brothers to give them way but the former stuck to their spot.

After a heated argument, Kale and two of his associates, who were later identified but are still absconding, pulled out country-made pistols and opened indiscriminate fire on the unarmed brothers.

“We heard a lot of gunshots and I ran to see what was happening,” said Shyam Dabas, a local resident. “All we saw was blood splattered all around the Champion that they (the victims) used to drive; we couldn’t even see their bodies.”

The police said around 18 rounds had been fired by Kale and his associates during the incident. Local residents called the police control room as the brothers were rushed to the Maharishi Valmiki hospital, where both were declared dead.

When their family members were handed their bodies, the entire village saw a riot-like situation.

Local residents assaulted police personnel and damaged DTC buses.

“Rahul and his associates are known criminals as they have been involved in several criminal cases in the recent past. Had the police acted against them, they would have landed in jail. But they were free to commit crimes in the area,” claimed Aman Gupta, a local resident.

“The men who killed my brothers are the same men who are left free to do what they wish because they bribe the local police,” said Rohit, the victims’ cousin.

The police, on their part, insisted that they had identified the three men accused and that arrests would be made soon.