Duo linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi fires outside Delhi’s Paschim Vihar gym in suspected extortion bid

Two men linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi fired shots outside a gym in Delhi, allegedly as part of an extortion attempt, causing local panic.

NEW DELHI

Police said they have tightened security in the area and are scanning CCTV footage to identify the shooters. (Representative photo)

Two men on a motorcycle, reportedly linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, fired shots outside a gym on the Outer Ring Road in Paschim Vihar East late Monday night, causing panic in the locality, police said on Tuesday. A social media post after the firing threatened the gym owner, in a suspected case of extortion, police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sachin Sharma confirmed that the firing took place around 11pm at RK Fitness, adding that no injury was reported.

“The assailants arrived on a motorcycle and fired two rounds in the air outside the gym before fleeing the spot. A case has been registered and investigation is underway,” Sharma said.

After the firing, a social media post emerged from a user identifying himself as Randeep Malik, who claimed to have carried out the firing at the behest of Bishnoi. In the post, Malik named gym owner Rohit Khatri and alleged that the attack was carried out because his phone calls were ignored.

The post warned that if Khatri failed to respond to the calls, he would face “serious consequences.” The post also mentioned several criminal syndicates, named after Lawrence Bishnoi, Jitender Gogi Maan, Hashim Baba, and Kala Rana.

“If you don’t take our calls, you’ll meet the same fate as Nadir Shah and killed outside your gym like he was,” the post read.

Shah was gunned down in Greater Kailash in 2024 in what police described as a gang-linked murder. Shah had allegedly received threats before being shot dead, and investigators had traced the conspiracy to gangster Hashim Baba.

A senior police officer said that the authenticity of the post and its authorship were being verified and investigators were examining whether the firing was part of an extortion or intimidation attempt. “CCTV footage from nearby areas is being scanned to identify the attackers and trace their escape route,” the officer said.

Police said that they questioned gym owner Khatri, a resident of Dwarka, who had opened his second gym branch in Pashcim Vihar about two years ago. “He said that he never received any such call. We have also checked his phone,” the officer said.

Officers are probing whether the firing was meant as a warning shot for extortion. “Security has been stepped up in the area, and police teams are working to identify and arrest those behind the attack,” the officer said.

In a separate incident, two bike-borne men fired outside the house of a 43-year-old businessman in east Delhi’s Vinod Nagar around 12am on Tuesday. “The men came and fired two rounds in the air before fleeing,” the officer said.

The victim told police that he received threat calls last year in which the caller demanded ₹5 crore. A case was registered in the matter at the time but no arrests were made.