Gurgaon: Mother of murder accused shot dead, police suspect gang rivalry

The assailants from Kaushal gang targeted Joni Hans who is out on bail but he fled

The mother of a murder accused released on bail was shot dead on Saturday night at her residence in Naharpur Rupa village near Rajiv Chowk. Primary investigation suggests that the killing could be the fallout of a rivalry between two gangs, police said.

A murder case has been filed at the Sadar police station in Gurgaon. (HT File)

In a complaint to the police, Joni Hans, who was released on bail from Bhondsi jail on February 28, said a person named Sanjit rang him up on Saturday evening and asked for a meeting near a flour mill.

Sanjit is the nephew of a gangster Kaushal, who jumped parole and is absconding. Kaushal has allegedly been trying to gain a foothold into Gurgaon’s crime world after gangster Sandeep Gadoli was gunned down by the police in Mumbai in February last year and another feared gangster, Binder Gujjar, is in jail.

Hans told the police that when he parked his car near the flour mill, three persons — Amit Dagar, Chand, and Ranbir Saini — met him along with Sanjit. The trio sat in his car and directed him to take them to his house. Sanjit followed in his own car.

Hans said he and his father jumped the boundary wall and saved them but his mother was killed. Hans is accused of gunning down a jeweller on March 4, 2016, at Hans Enclave in Sector 33.

In his statement to the police, Hans said that while in Bhondsi jail, he was close to Manjeet Mahal, another gangster. Kaushal’s brother Manish, who is also in jail, had been aware of this. Mahal, one of Delhi’s most wanted criminals once, is a rival of Kaushal gang.

Mahal ranks second in Delhi police’s list of top ten criminals. He had been absconding for over two years and carried a reward of ₹50,000, a senior police officer said. He mostly operated on the outskirts of Delhi and his gang comprised over 50 criminals from Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The police filed a murder case under section 302, 120B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the IPC as well as the Arms Act at Sadar police station. Vijay Kumar, SHO and investigating officer, said prima facie, the incident seems to be the fallout of gang rivalry, but further probe would reveal real cause.