Two bystanders among four dead as gang opens fire at rivals, accused on the run

Police said the attack was led by Gogi and his men, one of whom also died in the firing.

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The incident took place around 9 am at Sant Nagar market, DCP (north) Jatin Narwal said, adding that several people were injured. At least four PCR calls were made from different locations after the shootout. A shopkeeper in the area said that as soon as the gunshots rang, people started running in panic.

The shootout took place on the Sant Nagar main road, which is dotted with several mobile and SIM card shops, apart from a gym and a few eateries. (Express Photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

“Why target innocent people? We are planning a protest in the market on Tuesday,” said the shopkeeper, who did not wish to be identified. CCTV footage has been recovered from the spot, police said.

Police sources said Gogi and four-five of his men had arrived in a Fortuner to target one Mukul alias Sunny alias Bhanja (17), who is suspected to have had links to Tillu — though police have not confirmed this so far. Police said Jitender alias Kala (38), Surender alias Bitta (32) and Himanshu alias Monty (20) were with Mukul at the time.

“Gogi and his men opened fire on the men, just as they were coming out of a gym and heading towards their Scorpio, which was bullet-proof. On being attacked, two of them sat in the Scorpio and sped away. While trying to flee, they hit Rajkumar. The car stopped after hitting a wall,” said a police officer. Police said Mukul, a wrestler and bodybuilder, died in the gunfire, as did Sangeeta.

The incident took place around 9 am at Sant Nagar market, DCP (north) Jatin Narwal said, adding that several people were injured. (Express Photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

The shootout took place on the Sant Nagar main road, which is dotted with several mobile and SIM card shops, apart from a gym and a few eateries.

During the firing, one of the occupants of the Fortuner, Sanjeet, also received bullet injuries. “The accused dumped the car and the injured man near Max hospital and fled,” said an officer, adding that Sanjeet later died. Police are yet to ascertain who fired the bullet that killed Sanjeet.

Following the incident, Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik called the investigation officer to his office to take stock of the situation. Police said the Special Cell has taken over the probe.

During investigation, it was found that the Scorpio was registered in the name of a Delhi police constable, whose brother was shot dead, allegedly by Gogi, in Azadpur Mandi in 2015.

Fearing death threats from Gogi, the constable had made the Scorpio bullet-proof, and his nephew Mukul often took it for a ride, police said.

Police said Gogi bore a grudge against Mukul as he used to attend court hearings in the Azadpur Mandi case. “Gogi has threatened the constable and his family many times. He finally killed Mukul, who was just a teenager,” the boy’s uncle Jasveer said.