Gurugram realtor’s murder by 5 men witnessed by his twins from school bus

The victim, Mahesh Kumar Yadav, had put his children and a nephew on their school bus and was waving to them when the accused opened fire at him from a close range.

A 37-year-old property dealer was shot dead by five men, including two cousins, over a property dispute within his extended family near Palam Vihar in Haryana’s Gurugram on Wednesday, police said.

Police officials inspect the site where 37-year-old property dealer Mahesh Kumar Yadav was shot dead by five assailants in Sarai Alawardi near Palam Vihar at around 6: 30 am in Gurugram on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The incident took place after Mahesh Kumar Yadav put his nine-year-old twins and a nephew on their school bus at 6:30am in Sarai Alawardi. The attackers had parked their vehicle near the bus stop and were waiting for the bus to leave.

Mahesh was waving to his children when the accused opened fire at him from a close range, police said.

Eyewitnesses told the police that Mahesh tried to run after being hit by the first bullet but he collided with an auto and fell on the ground. The attacker then fired six more rounds.

Four bullets were allegedly shot by one cousin Gorkha, who had a pistol, and two shots by the other cousin Devender from his country-made gun. They returned to their SUV after shooting Mahesh without facing any opposition from the people present on the scene and drove away.

“They drove towards Najafgarh area,” an eyewitness told the police.

The school bus was hardly 10 metres away when Mahesh was shot. The children, who saw the shooting, stopped the bus and rushed to the spot where Mahesh was lying on the ground.

“The children raised an alarm following which morning walkers informed the police and Mahesh’s family members. He was rushed to a private hospital, nearly three kilometres away. The doctors declared him brought dead,” Kuldeep, a municipal councillor from ward one who uses his first name, said.

The police said all the accused are at large.

Family members alleged that despite 20 calls to the control room, the police reached the spot after an hour. They also claimed the police refused to take action, saying the area was not under their jurisdiction.

Residents blocked the railway track for an hour to protest the murder and police’s alleged late response. Three local trains, including Rewari-Delhi passenger mail which crosses the Sarai Alawardi station at 7.30am, were delayed for up to an hour, police said.

Sumit Kuhar, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said the incident took place near railway tracks and it was under the jurisdiction of the Government Railway Police (GRP).

“They have registered the case and the investigation is being done by them,” he said.

A case was registered at the GRP police station after Suresh Kumar Yadav, the brother of the victim, lodged a complaint. The police said all the accused are at large.

A case under section 302 (murder), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and a section of arms act was registered against the cousins, Gorkha and Devender, and their mother Roshni along with four unidentified persons.

Mahender Singh Verma, GRP’s deputy superintendent of police (Faridabad), said they are conducting raids to arrest the identified accused.

“We have recorded the statements and our teams will soon arrest of the accused,” Verma added.

The local police in Bajghera, where Mahesh lived, said they had received a complaint from him on July 16, in which he had alleged that his cousins threatened to kill him during an argument over the dog of one of the accused.

The police recorded the statements of five eyewitnesses later on Wednesday.

Mahesh’s body was handed over to his family on Wednesday afternoon after a post-mortem examination.

“The man died due to the multiple bullet injuries on head and neck. Two bullets were shot in the head, three in the neck and one in the chest. Another bullet pierced through his arm. There was a one-centimetre oval-shaped wound with darkening burnt edges on the head. Such edges in the entry wound are there only due to burns caused by a bullet fired from very close quarters, mostly from less than a feet,” said Dr. Deepak Mathur, forensic expert, Civil Hospital, who conducted the post-mortem.

Family members said the children were shocked and traumatised. “They were so scared that they were unable to speak and it took two hours to counsel them after which they narrated the incident to the family and investigating officers,” Pankaj Yadav, Mahesh’s brother, said.