SUV of accused changed hands thrice in four years before it was rented out to Nandal gang, say police

“Three of the five alleged shooters are from Rohtak. One among them had rented the SUV from its current owner,” an officer said.

According to the police, the Haryana-registered SUV (HR26FU5708) was first purchased by a Gurgaon resident from a showroom in 2022. He sold it to a used-car dealer in 2023, who later sold it to a buyer in Rohtak. About a year later, the buyer sold the SUV to another person in Rohtak in 2025, from whom it was allegedly rented by one of the accused.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the first owner of the SUV said that although he had completed the ownership transfer and the vehicle’s registration number had been changed, his mobile number continued to remain linked to the SUV. “Don’t know how the mobile number was never updated,” the buyer said.

“I don’t know why this happened, but I kept receiving challan messages related to the vehicle until this month. The Haryana Police questioned me, and I have told them the same thing,” he said.

Officers said they have also questioned the subsequent owners of the SUV and the used-car dealer.

An officer said that a Bahadurgarh resident, identified as Sandeep, may have been involved in providing logistical support, including the SUV and weapons, to the five accused. A team from Gurgaon Police on Friday conducted raids in Bahadurgarh and at several other locations across Haryana in search of him.

According to the police, Sandeep, a close associate of Deepak Nandal, was known to Nitin – one of the four men killed in the encounter. “Sandeep was allegedly involved in an attempt to murder case in Rohtak last year along with Nitin. Both were later granted bail,” an officer said.