NEW DELHI: A real estate businessman was gunned down by unidentified assailants in southwest Delhi’s Chhawla on Friday afternoon. The shooters managed to flee after the murder. The murder allegedly is the fallout of a failed extortion attempt.While police are yet to make a breakthrough, sources said the role of UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan was being investigated. Sangwan had recently threatened Balwan Gehlot and asked for Rs 2 crore as “protection money”. If confirmed, this would be the second extortion-related killing in a month. In Feb, businessman Vaibhav Gandhi was killed by shooters affiliated to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Bawana. Sangwan, who is in alliance with Lawrence, also threatened another businessman of the trans-Yamuna area on Friday, sources said. In Chhawla, police received a PCR call around 1pm from a passerby who heard the gunshot and saw a car in an agricultural farm. According to police, the attackers on a bike intercepted Gehlot and shot him point blank, leaving him with no chance of escape. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
“The attackers found the target alone in his car and shot him. A gangster living abroad had recently issued a threat to him. Police are investigating the matter,” said a senior officer.Investigators are scanning CCTV footage from the vicinity to identify the shooters and the vehicle used in the getaway. Forensic teams have also collected shell casings from the spot to determine the calibre of the weapons used. Several teams have been formed to track down the culprits. An FIR has been registered.Sangwan has become active of late after hiding for a few months last year. On Indian law enforcement’s request, Interpol has issued a Red Corner notice against him.Sangwan, from Najafgarh, lived in Nanda Enclave with his family. He had dropped out of a hotel management course in a private college in Gurgaon and took to crime. His brother, Jyoti, also a gangster, is lodged in Tihar Jail.Sangwan has a rivalry with gangster Manjeet Mahal since the latter bumped off his brother-in-law in 2015. The siblings carried out a series of murders in the past decade. Wanted in multiple cases of extortion, contract killings and gang wars, he fled to the UK in 2020 using forged documents.
