NEW DELHI: A 42-year-old property dealer was shot dead outside a gym in north Delhi’s Narela by two unidentified armed men on Thursday morning, police said.
Police have recovered 15 empty cartridges from the spot. While no arrests have been made, police suspect the involvement of gangs running extortion rackets in the Capital.
A purported social media post attributed the murder to Himanshu Bhau, a gangster and his associate. HT could not independently verify the post.
Police said the deceased, Pramod Kumar, a resident of Nahri village in Sonipat, had come to the gym near a hospital in Bakner when two armed men allegedly opened fire at him around 6.50 am.
“This was his usual time to come to the gym. He was walking to the gym with a friend when he was shot dead,” an officer said.
According to police, Narela police station received a PCR call about the firing around 7:15am. A police team reached the spot and found Kumar lying dead with multiple bullet injuries.
An eyewitness, Pawan Kumar, also a resident of Nahri, told police that he and Pramod had gone near the gym when the two men fired at them. While Pramod received multiple gunshot injuries, Pawan escaped unhurt.
The two attackers allegedly fled the spot on a motorcycle along with another accomplice, police said.
{{/usCountry}}The two attackers allegedly fled the spot on a motorcycle along with another accomplice, police said.
{{/usCountry}}“There are about 15 bullet wounds on his body. CCTV footage from the area is being analysed to identify the accused and establish the sequence of events,” the officer said.
A case under sections 103(1) (murder), 109(1) (attempted murder), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act has been registered at Narela police station.
Police said Kumar’s body has been sent for post-mortem examination. “Four teams comprising personnel from the Special Staff and local police have been formed to identify and trace the shooters.
“We are examining whether Kumar had any previous dispute, rivalry or threat that could have led to the targeted attack,” the officer said.
Kumar’s relative Manjeet Dahiya, 48, said that, according to the information he received, Kumar and his friend had come in his SUV and that he was shot from behind. “After four or five bullets, he collapsed on the spot, but the men continued to fire at him. Pawan fled towards the street and saved himself,” he said.
Dahiya said that Kumar earlier had a bulletproof vehicle but was not using one currently.
The family denied receiving any extortion calls. However, a police officer said that a few weeks ago, Kumar’s partner had received a call from an alleged extortionist who asked them to pay ₹2 crore, but Kumar allegedly told his partner not to give the money.
Kumar’s brother, Vinod Kumar, 55, demanded that police arrest the accused at the earliest. Kumar is survived by his wife and two minor children.