Two more held for GK shooting, had done recce: Cops

With this, police have so far arrested seven people for allegedly gunning down Nadir Shah outside a gym owned by him last week. However, the shooter is still on the run, police said.

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Sunday arrested two more people in connection with the recent murder of a 35-year-old gym owner in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash -1.

Delhi Police at the spot where Nadir Shah was shot dead in south Delhi's Greater Kailash, in New Delhi on Thursday. (HT PHOTO)

Police said the accused had conducted recce multiple times outside a five-star hotel, The Suryaa, in New Friends Colony, where the gang had initially planned the murder.

With this, police have so far arrested seven people for allegedly gunning down Nadir Shah outside a gym owned by him last week. However, the shooter is still on the run, police said.

On Thursday night, Shah was standing outside Sharx Gym in E Block, GK-1 when a man walked up to him and fired at point-blank range. CCTV footage of the incident, accessed by HT, showed the assailant firing eight to 10 rounds at Shah, even as the victim’s friend took cover under a Mercedes car. Hours after the murder rocked the upscale neighbourhood, fugitive gangster Goldy Brar’s aide Rohit Godara claimed responsibility and said he took help of “Baba” (Hashim Baba) for the murder.

According to senior police officers in the Special Cell and south district, Shah was a police informant who had allegedly intervened in a ₹40 crore deal between a businessman and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang which led to his murder. “Shah was also a police informer,” said a senior police officer from south district, requesting anonymity.

Police have identified the two arrested accused as Pankaj Kumar, 18, and Sachin Yadav, 19.

A senior police officer at Delhi Police headquarters told HT, “We caught the fifth accused, Sajid Ahmad, 37, on Saturday from Delhi. He helped provide logistical support to the assailant. He has been sent to 10 days of police custody. Based on Sajid’s disclosure during the investigation, we arrested two more accused from Azamgarh on Sunday.” Kumar and Yadav were later brought to Delhi, police said.

During their interrogation, police found that the gang had recently “hired” them and tasked them to conduct the recce.

A second officer at the Special Cell said, “ A week before the murder, Ahmad and the two teenagers were tasked to conduct recce. The arrested duo conducted multiple recce rounds around The Suryaa. They were keeping a constant watch on the deceased for the last few days. We suspect they were going to kill him outside the hotel but backed out at the last minute due to security issues in the area…”

The gang then sent the shooter along with two other men to GK-1 to kill Shah outside his gym, said the police.

On Friday, police arrested four people — Akash Yadav, 24, of Azamgarh; Naveen Baliyan, 33, of Sonipat; Nitalesh Tiwari, 20 of Kaptanganj, and Vishal Varma, 19, of Sultanpur Verehata — in connection with the murder.

Greesh Bindra, executive vice president at the Suryaa, said, “We don’t have any information about the murder or recce. We don’t know who the police arrested. Also, nobody can come inside the hotel with weapons. We have very tight security arrangements. Whatever happened would have taken place outside. We are always in touch with our local police staff.”