Hitmen behind Burger King murder killed in shoot-out
Three wanted gangsters involved in a murder at a Burger King in Delhi were killed in an encounter with police in Sonepat. One officer injured.
Three wanted gangsters, including two who were involved in the brazen murder of a man inside a packed Burger King outlet in Rajouri Garden in west Delhi on June 18, were killed in an exchange of fire with a joint team of Delhi and Haryana police at Sonepat on Friday night, senior officers said.
At least one policeman was also injured in the encounter, during which more than 30 bullets were fired by both sides, senior officers of Delhi Police’s crime branch said.
The slain gangsters were identified as Ashish Kalu aka Lalu, Vicky Ridhana, and Sunny Gujjar – all of them members of the dreaded Himanshu Bhau gang. All three were carrying a reward of ₹2 lakh each on their arrest. The joint force recovered five pistols from the encounter site, said police.
Ashish and Vicky were involved in the shooting at Rajouri Garden in which a rival gang member – 26-year-old Aman Joon -- was shot dead inside a Burger King outlet that was packed with more than 60 people. Their associate Bijender Singh alias Golo, who brought them to the Burger King on his motorcycle, was arrested in the last week of June by the special cell of Delhi Police after a brief resistance in Rohini area, police said. Investigators said they are still looking for Anu Dhankar, the woman who allegedly lured Joon to the restaurant.
The team was led by deputy commissioner of police (crime) Amit Goel, who survived the attack as a bullet fired by the accused hit his bulletproof vest, officers said.
Special commissioner of police (crime) Shalini Singh said that the crime branch team was working on the Burger King outlet murder case for the past few weeks. Recently, the crime branch team received inputs concerning the movement of two of the attackers in Sonepat. The information was developed and after confirmation a team led by DCP Amit Goel was sent to Sonepat.
The team informed Haryana Police and its special task force (STF) was roped in. A joint team was formed and it laid a trap at Rohtak-Chhiloni Road near Kharkhoda village in Sonepat. The team placed barricades and started waiting for the suspects.
Yogender Dahiya, Sonepat STF in-charge, said that they received a tip-off about the presence of three gangsters. “Delhi Police officers were also present at Kharkhoda village when we received tip-off that the gangsters were coming … we spotted a white car. We signalled them to stop the car, but the assailants started firing at us so we shot back in defence. The three shooters sustained injuries and we took them to Civil Hospital, Kharkhuada, where doctors declared them brought dead,” he said.
A police officer aware of the latest developments in the case said that the suspects were in a Kia Seltos. They fired 20 to 25 bullets while the police team fired 10 rounds at them. Apart from the three criminals, a sub-inspector from the team identified by his first name, Amit, was injured in the gunfight.
The slain criminals were associates of fugitive gangsters Himanshu Bhau, who is leading the Bhau gang, and his key confidant Sahil Ritoli. Both are operating the gang from abroad. Bhau is suspected to be in Portugal.
Ashish was involved in 18 cases while Vicky and Sunny had three and four-year-old cases against them. All three were allegedly involved in last month’s firing at a car showroom in Hisar. Ashish and Vicky were also involved in a killing in Murthal, police said.