Man shot dead in Gurugram’s Sadar Bazar, probe on

Police added that Sukhbir Khatana, who belonged to Rithoj village, was the vice-chairman of Sohna market committee almost a decade ago and had unsuccessfully contested the ward councillor election from ward number two of Sohna in 2018

A 48-year-old man was shot dead by a group of men inside a clothing showroom near Agarwal dharamshala in Sadar Bazaar on Thursday afternoon, police said, adding they are yet to identify the perpetrators.

Two or three armed suspects kept a lookout while three others barged into the clothing showroom and fired at least eight to 10 rounds at Sukhbir Khatana. (Representative image)

According to police, the incident took place between 3.15pm and 3.25pm when Sukhbir Khatana alias Sukhbir chairman, the victim, was shopping at the showroom with his cousin Rajender Patwari (age unknown).

Police said Khatana was about to leave the store when a group of men reached the spot. Two or three armed suspects kept a lookout while three others barged in and fired at least eight to 10 rounds at him. Khatana received five or six bullet injuries in the head and chest, but everyone else, including his cousin, escaped unhurt, they added.

Rajender Singh, assistant commissioner of police (city), said they suspect the murder to be a fallout of personal enmity.

“At least three armed suspects barged inside the showroom and opened fire at Khatana. He was rushed to a private hospital but could not be saved. His body was shifted to a mortuary but later taken to the government hospital for an autopsy,” he said, adding that police had registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act at Civil Lines police station against one Chaman (age unknown), Khatana’s brother-in-law, based on a complaint filed by Khatana’s son Anurag the same evening.

Inspector Pankaj Kumar, station house officer, Civil Lines police station, said Anurag alleged that Chaman—Khatana’s second wife’s brother—had a strained relationship with Khatana and killed him because of a personal dispute.

“However, it is not yet clear what kind of problems the victim and suspect had. We are investigating,” he said.

Investigators said they had recovered several cartridges from the showroom and were working to nab those involved in the murder, including the suspect Chaman.

Police added that Khatana, who belonged to Rithoj village, was the vice-chairman of Sohna market committee almost a decade ago and had unsuccessfully contested the ward councillor election from ward number two of Sohna in 2018.

A villager from Rithoj, requesting anonymity, said that Khatana had established a large-scale real estate business in Sohna and neighbouring areas and lived in Maruti Kunj locality with his family. “We are yet to accept that he was shot dead,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked if Khatana was also a Bharatiya Janata Party member, Gargi Kakkar, the Gurugram district president of the party, said Khatana didn’t have primary membership of the party. “He was not a party worker but used to attend our programmes with a few leaders,” she added.