Wanting to ‘send a message’, gangster shot man in mouth for ‘talking too much’ to rivals

A Delhi Police officer said 23-year-old Deepak alias Dawood suspected that a 40-year-old local “criminal” Roshan had been leaking information about his gang to rival criminal groups. Deepak believed these leaks led to several of his associates getting killed in the past few years and so, he shot Roshan in the mouth.

Nearly a week after a man was murdered in outer Delhi’s Najafgarh, the Delhi Police said he had been intentionally shot in his mouth by an alleged gangster for “talking too much”.

The alleged murderer was on a motorcycle with two associates in Najafgarh when he spotted the victim at a travel agent’s office. The trio barged inside the office and the gangster shot him in his mouth at point blank range. (Reuters File / Representative Image)

The alleged murderer, who was arrested on Wednesday night, told police he wanted to “send a message” that people leaking information about him to rival gangs would meet the same fate.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Alto Alphonse said 23-year-old Deepak alias Dawood suspected that a 40-year-old local “criminal” Roshan had been leaking information about his gang to rival criminal groups. Deepak believed these leaks led to several of his associates getting killed in the past few years, said the officer.

Deepak allegedly told police he aspired to “make it big” in crime.

“Deepak told us that he shot Roshan in his mouth to send a message that anyone sharing information about him to his rival gangs would meet the same fate,” said Alphonse. “Isi muh se zyada bolta hai na (you used this mouth to blabber),” the DCP quoted Deepak as saying before shooting Roshan in his mouth.

A native of Bahadurgarh in Haryana, Deepak had joined the notorious Nandu gang a few years ago, said police.

On November 20, Deepak was on a motorcycle with two associates in Najafgarh when he spotted Roshan at a travel agent’s office. “They barged inside the office and Deepak shot him in his mouth at point blank range,” said an investigator.

While CCTV cameras had captured the three men escaping from the crime spot on their motorcycle, police said the visuals were grainy so they could not be identified.

The breakthrough in the case came after police received a tip-off identifying Deepak as the shooter. Based on the tip-off, Deepak was arrested by a team of special staff of Dwarka district from Najafgarh on Wednesday night, police said. Deepak was carrying a pistol at the time of his arrest, investigating officers said.