Gurgaon: Property dealer shot dead, police suspect old rivalry

The attackers opened fire on his car. Although he managed to get away and took shelter in a nearby house, they broke in and shot him dead

A 50-year-old property dealer was shot multiple times by 8-10 armed assailants in Sector 67 late Monday night. The police suspect the killing to be the fallout of a man’s murder 23 years ago.

Raj Kumar, the deceased property dealer. (HT PHOTO)

The deceased, identified as Raj Kumar, a resident of Medhawas village in Sector 64, had left his office in his car when the accused allegedly opened fire on his car. Although the property dealer managed to escape and take refuge in a nearby house, the attackers soon broke in and shot him dead, the police said.

Sources said revenge is believed to be the likely motive forthe murder and a case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered at Badshahpur police station. Rajender Kumar, SHO, Badshahpur police, said the case was registered against Deepak and Lalit, both residents of Medhawas village, along with some unidentified persons, in connection with the case.

The incident happened around 11pm when Raj Kumar was returning home in his Maruti S-cross. The assailants, who were tailing him, opened fire on his car near Ansal Essencia township in Sector 67.

“The car was hit by bullets and a tyre got punctured in firing after which it hit a wall and stopped. Raj Kumar took shelter in a house and tried to shut the gate. The assailants, however, chased him and pumped bullets into him. He died at the scene,” Ram Kumar, brother of the deceased, said.

Kumar is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Both the victim and the accused used to be neighbours in Medhawas village. However, accused Deepak and Lalit had moved out of the village recently, the police said.

Deepak had recently came out on parole from Bhondsi jail, an officer said.

According to the police, the murder could be the fallout of a 23-year old enmity which began when Deepak and Lalit’s father Brahm Prakash was allegedly killed by gangster Dharambir Gujjar, a resident of Ullahwas village. Kumar was also named in connection with the case, the police said.

“The case went to court and Kumar was acquitted. We believe his acquittal did not go down well with Brahm Prakash’s sons and they had been thirsting for revenge. A case has been registered and the body has been handed over to the family. We are waiting for the post-mortem report, as it would shed more light into the case,” ASI Pramod Kumar, the investigating officer in the case, said.

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

Gangster Dharambir Gujjar of Ullahwas village was shot dead in February, 2006 in a Gurgaon district court while being taken for a hearing. He faced several criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder.

While Gurgaon’s real estate sector has been grappling with a slowdown, crimes related to property have been on the rise over the last one year. In February, two youths were allegedly murdered in Farrukhnagar, 20-km from Gurgaon, after a property deal went wrong.

Another property dealer was killed near Sadhrana village near Daruhera in the first week of March by a hardened criminal over a dispute involving a large plot of land.