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Failed attempt, then car mowed him down: Delhi man killed over 27-year-old feud
A resident of Majra Dabas, Deepak was near Prem Pyau Road on July 2 when the Hyundai i10 allegedly hit his scooter. He survived after falling into a farm, escaping with injuries.
A resident of Majra Dabas, Deepak was near Prem Pyau Road on July 2 when the Hyundai i10 allegedly hit his scooter. (Express Photo)
First came a Hyundai i10, bearing down on the scooter of 46-year-old Deepak Dabas on an Outer Delhi road on July 2. Fourteen days later, a Scorpio came for him again. While the first accident left Deepak injured, the second left him dead – and, police say, exposed a 27-year-old village rivalry that had turned into a planned revenge killing.
A resident of Majra Dabas, Deepak was near Prem Pyau Road on July 2 when the Hyundai i10 allegedly hit his scooter. He survived after falling into a farm, escaping with injuries.
On July 16, he was allegedly hit by a Scorpio near Chandpur Majra Road. A PCR call was received at Kanjhawala police station and officers found Deepak dead. His damaged scooter lay about 100 m away.
What caught attention of the police were tyre marks on his chest and legs. Police suspected the Scorpio had not simply struck him once but had been driven over him repeatedly. “Usually, when someone is run over, there are only one set of tyre marks. In this case, there were multiple tyre marks, as if someone had repeatedly run him over,” an officer privy to the investigation said.
The victim was mowed down by a Scorpio near Chandpur Majra Road on July 16.
What initially appeared to be two road accidents was subsequently investigated as a planned killing, resulting in the arrest of five persons — main conspirator Pawan alias Jagpal Dabas, Sagar Kala, Atul alias Monty, Sahil and Prince alias Tilli.
The roots of the alleged revenge go back 27 years. Police said Deepak had allegedly misbehaved with Pawan’s sister, all residents of the same village. Pawan’s uncle’s son, Rajpal, had then allegedly thrashed Deepak. Deepak, police said, retaliated by attacking Rajpal, setting off a rivalry that continued for years.
Pawan’s sister eventaully married and moved away. But police said Deepak continued to intimidate her whenever she returned to her maternal home. “Deepak would go around in his tractor, make sounds with the vehicle to grab attention. Last year, he also did something similar to Pawan’s close friend Sagar Kala’s sister. It was then that the two decided to take revenge,” an officer said.
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The plan began in February, police said, when Sagar’s brother Saajan allegedly opened fire outside Deepak’s residence to scare him.
The first attempt to kill Deepak came on July 2, police said. An FIR was registered in connection with incident. Sagar (30) was allegedly driving the car. “Pawan was angry with Sagar and told him that in the second attempt, he would drive,” said the officer.
Two weeks later, police said, Sagar ran over Deepak. Following this, the Scorpio was recovered.
An FIR was lodged and a joint team of the Kanjhawala police and Special Staff was formed. While the Kanjhawala police team was led by SHO Inspector Krishan Kumar, the Special Staff team was headed by Inspector Sandeep Godara.
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The first breakthrough came on July 17, when police arrested Sagar. During questioning, he allegedly said that he had intentionally hit Deepak with the Hyundai i10 on July 2 to kill him.
The car was subsequently recovered from Atul (30), who was also arrested.
“Pawan, who had a long-standing enmity with Deepak, planned the killing. He had earlier fired outside the house of Deepak’s brother… Two more arrests followed,” said DCP (Rohini) Shashank Jaiswal.
He added that Sahil (23) was arrested on July 22 for allegedly harbouring Pawan and attempting to destroy evidence. Prince (24) was arrested on July 26 for allegedly arranging the Scorpio. Police said Tilli is the nephew of jailed gangster Kala Jhatedi.
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After the murder, police said, Pawan kept changing his location. He first went to Meerut, then Hisar, Rajasthan and Gujarat. As the Kanwar season began, he travelled to Haridwar and stayed in tents used by Kanwariyas. He was eventually arrested on August 12.
Pawan has four previous criminal cases, while Sagar Kala and Atul have two each, police said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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