: An uncle-nephew duo of contract killers was arrested by the Special Cell on Thursday, five months after they allegedly gunned down a man in east Delhi’s Harsh Vihar.
Identified as Durgesh (28) and his uncle, Vishan alias Bane Singh (25), the two had murdered one Shakir as per a contract worth ₹7 lakh last October, said Pramod Singh Kushwah, DCP (Special Cell).
“The accused were hired by one Shaukat and one Jafru, both residents of Shakir’s village in Mathura. Earlier, too, Shaukat and his family had roped in contract killers to murder the victim’s cousin,” said the DCP.
Cops on the trail
Shakir’s body was found in Harsh Vihar on October 27, 2016. Investigation led the police to one Hakim, a resident of Shakir's village, who identified his body and told the police that he had come to Delhi with Shakir, who was to receive some money from someone in Delhi.
On reaching Delhi, according to Hakim, two people met them at the Kashmere Gate metro station. Shakir introduced one of them as Bane Singh. The latter then took the duo to the scene of crime, where he allegedly shot Shakir dead. Hakim managed to escape.
“A cash reward of ₹50,000 was declared on the heads of the accused when no clue came by. A team consisting of ACP Lalit Mohan Negi and Inspectors Sanjay Gupta and Rajesh Kumar was also formed to the accused,” the DCP said.
The breakthrough came on Thursday, when the police received an input that the accused would be going to the Loni roundabout. A trap was laid, and the duo was arrested.
Firearms seized
A .315 bore country-made pistol, a .32 bore sophisticated pistol and six live cartridges were seized from them, the police said, adding that Durgesh was involved in five other cases of heinous crime and Vishan in two.