Culprits fooled property dealer into giving them car

Two of the three men who killed 62-year-old Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader-cum-businessman Deepak Bhardwaj had apparently conned their local property dealer for the getaway car.

Two of the three men who killed 62-year-old Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader-cum-businessman Deepak Bhardwaj had apparently conned their local property dealer for the getaway car.

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Purushottam and Sunil, the two contract killers caught on Bhardwaj’s south Delhi farmhouse’s CCTV camera, belong to northwest Delhi’s Alipur village, sources said. They had reportedly fooled one Ramesh into letting them use a car registered in his name on the pretext of buying it.

“Sunil had apparently visited Ramesh, a local property dealer, and expressed his interest in purchasing his Skoda Laura a day before the incident. The deal had been struck at a little more than Rs 8 lakh. A part of the amount was paid as down payment and the rest was promised within two days,” said an officer.

But Sunil laid down a condition, police said. “He told Ramesh that the deal was binding only if he allowed him to take the car for a day-long spin on Tuesday. Sunil said he would pay the remaining amount the very next day as he was expecting one of his clients to pay up,” the officer said.

The police team investigating the incident zeroed in on Purushottam and Sunil after tracing the car’s ownership to Ramesh. Their third associate, Pradeep, was arrested from southwest Delhi later.

Police said they were initially able to trace four cars matching the description of the one used in the execution of the incident. Ramesh was questioned and, in the process, spilled the beans about having lent it to the accused duo.

The physical description he provided police further helped track them down the duo. They were detained for questioning, during which they allegedly confessed to their role in the crime. “We are on the right track and arrests will be made soon,” said Chhaya Sharma, DCP (south).