1 more arrest in Dwarka shoot-out

With the latest arrest, the police said there were a total of four members of the notorious Pradeep Solanki gang involved in the shooting under the metro station on May 19.

A week after a gang war in west Delhi’s Dwarka Mor left two “gangsters” dead, the Delhi Police on Monday said they had arrested a 34-year-old man who was the “eyes and ears” of the assailants and trailed them on that day as their backup.

The Delhi Police on Monday said they had arrested a 34-year-old man who was the “eyes and ears” of the assailants and trailed them on that day as their backup. (HT File (Representative Image))

With the latest arrest, the police said there were a total of four members of the notorious Pradeep Solanki gang involved in the shooting under the metro station on May 19.

In videos shot by passersby on their mobile phones, only three armed men were seen firing bullets at a car in which Solanki’s rival, Praveen Gahlot, was travelling. While Gahlot died on the spot, one of the alleged assailants, Vikas Dalal, was gunned down by a policeman deployed nearby.

But subsequent probe by Dwarka district police revealed that a fourth armed gangster, Gopal Kishan, was near the crime scene as well at that time.

“Kishan was the backup. He was to step in with his loaded gun if his other associates failed to kill Gahlot. But when he saw Dalal fall to a police bullet, he escaped,” said Anto Alphonse, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka).

The DCP said that a property worth crores of rupees in Uttam Nagar was at the centre of the rivalry between Pradeep Solanki and Praveen Gahlot.

“Gahlot refused to bow down to Solanki, who is in jail. So, Solanki planned to kill Gahlot. He roped in four people. Dalal was to lead the team,” the DCP said.

Kishan was allegedly supposed to be the eyes and ears of the team. “Kishan conducted reconnaissance of Gahlot’s locations and movement. On May 19, he waited near the Nawada metro station until he spotted Gahlot travelling in a Maruti Ritz car. He alerted Dalal and others who chased Gahlot until the Dwarka Mor metro station before gunning him down,” said the DCP.

Kishan was arrested from the Najafgarh-Uttam Nagar Road on Saturday night after a tip-off.