Trio, including minor, held in Delhi gang war

Three suspects linked to a gang rivalry were arrested after a shootout in Delhi, following the murder of a property dealer, Sameer Pehalwan.

New Delhi

Police said that all three suspects are part of the Wasim Hasmat gang, which is currently in a rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gang. (Representative photo)

Four days after a 32-year-old property dealer was shot dead by four assailants while he was out on an evening walk in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park area, three assailants, including a minor boy, were caught after an exchange of fire with a crime branch team in Rohini Sector 28 on Tuesday night, senior police officers said.

Police said that all three suspects are part of the Wasim Hasmat gang, which is currently in a rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gang. All of them suffered at least one bullet injury each in their legs in the shoot-out, in which at least 13 rounds were fired. Two of the suspects were identified as Rehman, 23, and Adil, 23. The identity of the minor cannot be disclosed.

“The three, along with another associate, shot dead 32-year-old realtor Sameer alias Kammu Pehalwan, in the Shastri Park area on Saturday night in the ongoing gang war. Sameer was killed to avenge the killing of Wasim, who was also killed in Shastri Park by two of his nephews in the early hours of December 31. The Bishnoi-Baba gang had claimed responsibility for Wasim’s killing,” deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

Police said that the probe into Sameer’s murder revealed the rivalry, and on Tuesday, the crime branch team was tipped off about the presence of the suspects. Police laid a trap near Ajmal Khan Park and intercepted the trio on a white scooter around 11.40pm. They immediately opened fire and the police responded.

Police said the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gang had made two attempts to kill Wasim in 2024. In a first firing incident in northeast Delhi, Wasim suffered bullet injuries but survived. While he was recuperating at the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, the hitmen of the gang entered the hospital ward and killed another patient, Riyazuddin, in a case of mistaken identity. Wasim was killed in December last year.

“After Wasim’s murder, his gang members vowed to take revenge. They had apprehension that Sameer alias Kammu Pehalwan, who is associated with the Hasim Baba gang, had planned Wasim’s murder through his two nephews. Hence, they got Sameer killed,” DCP Yadav said.