It was on January 20, 2009, that Nadir Shah was arrested for the first time by the Delhi Police from a TV channel’s studio in Noida, said officers. At the time, he was a member of the notorious Satte gang; while gang leader Satya Prakash was arrested in an encounter at Green Park, Shah escaped and surrendered days later, police said.
Over the years, Shah became a police informant. He also opened several call centres in Delhi, a restaurant in Dubai that failed, and a gym in South Delhi’s Greater Kailash 1 — it was outside this gym, called Sharx, that the 34-year-old was gunned down, shot five times by four men, on Thursday night.
While the assailants are yet to be arrested, four men involved in the recce and arranging the weapon used in the crime were nabbed Friday. Another was arrested Saturday. Police had said their initial probe revealed that the conspiracy was allegedly hatched by Anmol Bishnoi — younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi — who is currently operating from the US, and Rohit Godara, who is based in the UK. In a purported Facebook post hours after the shooting, Godara claimed responsibility.
According to police, Nadir Shah, whose family was from Afghanistan, lived in Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin where his father worked as a carpet seller.
A Class VII dropout, police said Shah initially worked as a carpenter before he fell into the company of local drug peddlers. “He then joined the Satte gang. While he started by providing them information about jewellery shops, banks, and cash carriers, he soon began to take part in robberies,” said a retired police inspector, who was part of the Green Park encounter team.
“Before the encounter, the South district police planned to make me a decoy in the gang. During this time, I saw Shah; he was a small-time drug peddler then, giving money to people on interest… On the day of the Green Park encounter, he was in a car and managed to escape along with an associate named Harpal. Later, like in a scene from a movie, they went to a news studio in Noida to surrender,” the retired inspector said.
Police records show Shah spoke Hindi and English. Three cases of robbery and attempt to murder were registered against him in 2009, and a case of extortion in 2018.
“Lodged in Tihar jail following his arrest, Shah allegedly grew close to South Delhi-based gangster Ravi Gangwal. Once he got out of prison, however, he changed tack. He made contacts in the Delhi Police and gave them information about criminals in rival gangs… he also helped some criminals surrender before the police. In the meantime, he continued working as a drug peddler. He also started working with a South-Delhi-based builder, who was also allegedly working as a land grabber,” said a top Delhi Police officer.
Shah also got into the business of call centres and started operating several of them in Delhi in a partnership. An officer said around two-three years ago, Shah got in touch with a South Delhi businessman who runs call centres in Delhi and made more money with his help.
In 2019-2020, he moved to Dubai and opened a restaurant in Dubai that shut down due to financial losses. Police suspect that he opened the call centres and the restaurant by allegedly investing money belonging to criminals lodged in jails and police personnel.
He then returned to India and opened his gym in GK-1.
Behind the murder
Police said that a few weeks ago, Bishnoi allegedly demanded around Rs 25 crore from a friend of Shah’s. “After receiving the extortion demand, the businessman approached Shah. With help from his contacts, Shah tried to negotiate the extortion amount. It came to light that the amount was not paid to Bishnoi,” they said.
What possibly fuelled Bishnoi’s ire, police suspect, was that a close aide of gangster Gangwal, Deepak Madrasi, had been spotted with Shah on several occasions. Bishnoi’s aide Hashim Baba and Gangwal were rivals.
“In March 2021, Lawrence’s aide, Shahrukh, along with his aides, had opened fire at Madrasi, but he escaped despite receiving gunshot injuries. Shah had assured some people that Madrasi would change his statement during the trial, but he did not,” an officer said.
A police source said in the last two months, Shah had been warned of a possible attack after they received several inputs that Lawrence and his associates, including Baba, were plotting something against him.
Police claimed Shah’s last guests at the gym on Thursday were three Delhi Police personnel who had come to meet him with some information. He was arranging food for them and stepped out to make some calls.
Five minutes later, he was shot dead.
Police outside the gym; (left) Nadir Shah. (PTI Photo) 
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