2 held for GTB hospital shooting; case of mistaken identity: Police

The four assailants who entered the hospital are still at large, and efforts are on to find them.

A day after a 32-year-old man admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital in east Delhi was shot dead inside the hospital ward in a case of mistaken identity by a group of gangsters who wanted to shoot dead a rival, the Delhi Police arrested two people involved in the planning of the murder.

The mother and wife of 32-year-old man Riyazuddin inside GTB Hospital. (HT Photo)

The assailants’ actual target was admitted in the same ward as the victim, but was recently shifted to a private room, police said.

Police identified the arrested accused as Faiz Khan, 20, and Md Farhaan, 21, who are allegedly associated with the Hashim Baba gang. However, officers said, neither was at the hospital at the time of the incident — the four assailants who entered the hospital, including the main shooter, are still at large, and efforts are on to find them.

On Sunday afternoon, Khajuri Khas resident Md Riyazuddun, who was undergoing treatment for an abdominal infection, was with his sister and a doctor when he was shot dead. Police would later discover five bullet shells at the spot.

However, the assailants’ real target was another patient, who was identified as Waseem (who goes by single name), 33, said officers. “The accused came to kill another patient, who was admitted in the same ward and on the bed opposite the deceased,” deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary said.

Waseem was shot four times in the Welcome area last month and is currently recuperating in the hospital. Hours after the shooting, he was shifted to a high-security ward inside the hospital, and multiple guards have been deployed outside the ward, police said.

According to investigators, the assailants wanted to kill Waseem in revenge for a fight in Tihar jail in last year.

“Waseem was a member of the Hashim Baba gang, but broke away over a petty fight. We think he started working for the Chhenu gang, and was arrested and sent to jail in 2022-23. While he was in jail, he allegedly attacked members of the Baba gang with blades. This enraged the gang leaders, who then planned to kill him,” an officer said, on condition of anonymity.

Waseem was released from Tihar in April, and the Hashim Baba gang attacked him in the Welcome area on June 13, the officer said. However, Waseem managed to escape alive despite being shot four times.

“The gang then planned to kill Waseem inside the hospital, and recruited some youngsters for the murder. None of them had ever met or seen Waseem, and were simply told that the target was a ‘middle-aged Muslim man’ with ‘injuries on his abdomen’ and had a ‘female family member’ by his bedside. This led to the mistaken identity,” the officer said.

Senior officers said that after the incident, the four assailants rushed outside the hospital, and one fled on a bike and the remaining three took e-rickshaws to escape, adding that raids are on to nab them.

A medical attendant, who was inside the ward at the time of the incident, said, “The assailants entered the ward and did not say a word. One of them pulled out a pistol and started firing. Riyazuddin’s sister collapsed as she saw her brother being fired at. The doctor, who was dressing his wounds, ducked under his bed. After the firing, the four assailants shut the ward door and ran downstairs.”

Riyazuddun’s family said they did not know the attackers or why he was targeted, but suspected that the real target was another patient with a criminal history, who was recently shifted to a private room.

“We found footage of the four suspects. A case was lodged based on the complaint of the sister of the deceased, Md Riyazuddin,” Chaudhary said.