Gurgaon: Property dealer shot dead, attack captured on CCTV

The incident, CCTV images of which were splashed across television channels, took place at 10.40pm on Tuesday. There were a total of four assailants, three of whom could be seen in the footage. One of them -- a middleaged bespectacled man holding a gun -- was clearly visible to the camera.

Shocking images of a shooting in Gurgaon, the fallout of a suspected gang war, have emerged, showing three assailants firing at a man, trying to run and evade the killers, at a fuel filling station in Sector-5.

A grab from the footage recorded by the CCTV installed at the petrol filling stations shows an assailant with a gun.

The incident, CCTV images of which were splashed across television channels, took place at 10.40pm on Tuesday. There were a total of four assailants, three of whom could be seen in the footage. One of them -- a middleaged bespectacled man holding a gun -- was clearly visible to the camera.

The victim, Raj Kumar Sethi alias Raju, is a resident of Mayfields Garden, Sector 51.

Police said Raju had gone to the filling station to give Diwali gifts to the owner. He reached the petrol pump in his car and after spending a few minutes in the office, returned to his car to pick packets of dry fruits.

As he was standing near his car, the four assailants reached there on two bikes. They pulled out guns and ran towards Raju, who threw the gift packets at them and ran outside. The assailants followed him, firing. One bullet caught Raju in his leg and he could be seen collapsing in the CCTV footage.

“After Raju collapsed, the assailants shot him in the head. He died on the spot. Surprisingly, Raju’s brother and his friends who accompanied him to the filling station were also carrying guns but they did not try to protect him. The armed guard at the petrol station also stood a spectator,” a police officer said.

Panic-stricken customers fled as soon as the shooting began, said the station staff.

The assailants fled, leaving behind one bike. When the staff at the petrol pump tried to chase them, the attackers fired again. A bullet was found lodged in a wall and another hit the tyre of the pump owner’s SUV.

Indicating at gang war, the police said Raju himself was a close aide of gangster Sandeep Gadoli. He had been arrested once in an attempt to murder case. The bike, recovered by the police, has a temporary registration number and was stolen from Manesar area on October 29.

“We had given registered several complaints at the Sadar police station, as recently as November 1, about the threat to my brother’s life. But the police took no action. He died due to the carelessness of Gurgaon police,” said Sunil Kumar, Raju’s younger brother, who was present at the spot at the time of shootout.

“We are sure Binder Gujjar is behind the murder as one of the identified assailants is a close aide of Gujjar and he had threatened my brother several times. My brother had escaped several bids on his life,” said Kumar.

DCP(Crime) Ved Prakash Godara said, “The victim was a bookie and a history sheeter. We have identified one of the shooters and will soon arrest him. Our teams are conducting raids at different locations”.

Tuesday’s shootout is the latest in a string of violent incidents being reported from the city. Police say they are part of a bitter turf war between the three major gangs operating in the city, namely the Binder Gujjar Gang, Sandeep Gadoli gang and Mahesh Attack gang.

Sources said Gujjar and Attack seems to have joined hands to eliminate Gadoli gang.

Currently, 10 gangs are active in Gurgaon who deal in real estate, extortion, gambling, betting, and other criminal activities. Police sources say most of the gangs have 25-30 members and usually maintain a lowprofile. Sources say they rely mostly on country-made guns.