Four nabbed for killing petrol pump employee

One debt-ridden driver, a dance teacher and a small-time garment manufacturer were the men behind the murder and robbery of a petrol pump employee in Bhajanpura.

One debt-ridden driver, a dance teacher and a small-time garment manufacturer were the men behind the murder and robbery of a petrol pump employee in Bhajanpura.

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South Delhi Police said they have arrested 29-year-old Rakesh Kumar, the main accused, and his three friends on Friday.

On June 15, Baldev Singh, a Kargil war veteran, was shot dead by Kumar and robbed of Rs 8.45 lakh in cash. Singh was the gunman-cum-caretaker of the petrol pump and was killed while he was on his way to deposit the money in Syndicate Bank.

The three others arrested in the case are Harish Gupta (28), a garment manufacturer, Vinay Bhargava (31), a dance teacher, and Basant Kumar (37), a known criminal. They are all residents of Brahmapuri.

The Lodhi Colony Police arrested the four accused from Karbala in Lodhi Colony when they were planning to rob another petrol pump on Aurobindo Marg.

Police said Kumar had bought a car but was not able to pay the installments. “Recovery agents were continuously harassing him and he was on the verge of committing suicide,” said Delhi Police Commissioner YS Dadwal.

Kumar then roped in his two best friends Gupta and Bhargava to assist him. Basant Kumar, who was earlier convicted of a double murder, provided them with the guns that they used in the crime.

The police added that Gupta had joined the gang on his maternal uncle's insistence who wanted to make him a hardened criminal. Basant Kumar also helped them for similar reason, as he wanted to use them to avenge his father’s murder, police said.

“The four conducted a recce of the area two days before the crime. Kumar, who also has an account in same branch of Syndicate Bank, then planned to rob the petrol pump money which he knew was brought to the bank every Monday,” added Dadwal.

The commissioner said Kumar was the one who shot dead Baldev Singh from almost point blank range. After snatching the cash bag they fled the spot on two Bajaj Pulsar motorcycles, one of which was stolen.

The police claimed to have recovered Rs 5 lakh looted from Singh and four .315 bore pistols, eight live cartridges and two motorcycles used in the crime from the accused.