Two Lawrence Bishnoi-Rohit Godara gang members held after gunfight in Nuh

Police said the incident took place near Tauru-Nuh Road, close to Palla Pahadi village, where the duo was confronted by the police

A joint team of the Haryana Police special task force (STF) and Delhi Police special cell arrested two members of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Rohit Godara gang after a shoot-out in Nuh of Haryana on Monday, police said.

(Representational image)

Police said the incident took place near Tauru-Nuh Road, close to Palla Pahadi village, where the duo was confronted by the police. A shoot-out ensued, resulting in both suspects sustaining gunshot wounds. They were admitted to Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College in Nalhar for treatment, said police.

“Despite calls to surrender, the suspects fired at the police team, prompting counter fire by the team in self-defence. Resultantly, both the assailants sustained injuries in their legs and were apprehended. STF Gurugram registered a case and has initiated investigation,” Sonakshi Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Nuh, said.

The duo was identified as Vishal, alias Kala, and Ravi, alias Mota, who were allegedly involved in shooting dead Gurugram scrap dealer Sachin Munjal in the presence of his wife and mother at an eatery in Rohtak of Delhi on February 29, police said. Two countrymade pistols, magazines and three rounds of ammunition were seized from the suspects following the shoot-out.

Singh said the joint team was patrolling the KMP flyover in Rewasan Nuh when they received intelligence suggesting the presence of the duo near Nakka Palla Pahadi. “Upon deliberation, both teams formulated a plan and initiated a search. The suspects were seen near Palla Pahadi Tauru Road and tried to flee the spot, but the teams, equipped with bulletproof jackets, moved swiftly and tried to chase them,” she said.

Narender Bijarniya, superintendent of police (Nuh), said Vishal’s role was suspected in an incident of firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence in Mumbai on April 14 — which was later ruled out — and the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Mansa district on May 29, 2022.

“The suspects are undergoing treatment and we are recording their statements,” Bijrniya said.

Police said that CCTV footage of the scrap dealer’s murder showed that the businessman was getting out of his car outside an eatery — with his wife, mother and two children following him — when two assailants from another car opened fire at him. The victim’s mother was also shot in the leg when she tried to intervene.

Fugitive gangster Rohit Godara, who is currently operating out of Canada, claimed responsibility for Sachin’s murder through a social media post on March 1, the officer cited above said.

The social media post, written in Hindi, claimed that the murder was justified as the businessman was a “bookie” associated with a rival gang, and was ignoring extortion calls. The gangster also warned “others” to pay heed to his calls, without specifying who he was referring to.

Soon after Godara’s purported post, Delhi Police special cell — the anti-terror and anti-gangster unit of the city police — reported his profile to Facebook and got it blocked.