A tale of two Satishs: Man lodged in jail held as gang war angle emerges
What seemed to be a double murder due to mistaken identity has now emerged as a fallout between two rival gangs who are trying to control the extortion business in outer Delhi, police officers probing the killings which took place on Monday at Bakkarwala, near Mundka, said on Thursday
What seemed to be a double murder due to mistaken identity has now emerged as a fallout between two rival gangs who are trying to control the extortion business in outer Delhi, police officers probing the killings which took place on Monday at Bakkarwala, near Mundka, said on Thursday.
On Monday night, two unidentified masked men opened indiscriminate fire inside a single-room in Bakkarwala house killing Joginder Singh, 40, the house owner, and his 60-year-old neighbour Mangal Singh. Witnesses later told the police that the two came looking for one Satish, and when Joginder pointed out to a photo of his father, who was also named Satish, the assailants opened fire. They said the killers were actually looking for another Satish, who also lives in the neighbourhood.
The real plot was revealed after the police arrested and questioned jailed gangster Ankesh Lakra , a member of the Jitender Gogi gang, on Wednesday. Investigators said the intended target, Satish, who runs an illegal betting racket in Mundka, told the police during questioning that he had been getting extortion calls by Lakra.
The officers also said that Satish was aligned to the rival Tillu Tajpuria gang and had mocked Lakra that he was only giving empty threats during one of the phone calls that the gangster made.
The two murders, the officers said, were committed by the Gogi gang to send out a message to send out a “strong message” to other betting operators at Bakkarwala and its adjoining neighbourhoods that they will have to “face consequences” if they refused to pay extortion money or sought protection the rival Tillu gang.
Gogi, one of Delhi’s top gangsters, was allegedly murdered inside a Rohini courtroom on the orders of friend-turned-arch rival Tillu, on September 24, 2021.
The investigators said that Lakra had been telling Satish that he had to pay Rs20,000 per month to his gang, otherwise he will be killed.
Lakra was among the seven people of a group which exchanged fire with four policemen during their attempt to get Gogi’s key aide, Kuldeep Maan alias Fajja, free from police custody at east Delhi’s Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital on March 25 last year. Lakra was injured in the gunbattle and arrested while his accomplice, Ravi Malik, was killed. Their other associates, including Deepak Pahal alias Boxer, managed to escape. Fajja was killed in a police shoot-out at a flat in Tulsi Apartment in Rohini on March 28.
Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sameer Sharma said no cellphone was recovered from him. “We have arrested Lakra and are interrogating him. Also, the footage of CCTV cameras installed on the routes that the assailants took were also checked. Our teams are collecting vital information about the assailants. Further probe is on,” he said.
When asked about police’s claims that Lakra had been making extortion calls from jail, and that on his instructions the double murder was carried out in Bakkarwala, director general (DG) of Tihar Prisons Sandeep Goel said, “We will provide all assistance to the police in investigation of the case.”
