A 35-year-old businessman and his 32-year-old accountant were shot dead while his driver was injured when four unidentified bike-borne men fired indiscriminately at them in Rohini’s Narela on Monday morning.
The masked men fled with ₹25 lakh from the spot.
Pankaj, his accountant Harish Bhatia, and driver Amit Goel were on their way to a nearby bank to deposit the cash when masked men stopped their car and attacked them.
“The incident was reported at 10.30 a.m. near Old Grain Mandi. The masked men were waiting for the car. As soon as the car appeared, it was intercepted by the men who started firing at the victims,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Rishi Pal.
The men snatched the bag containing ₹25 lakh from the car and fled the spot.
‘Planned robbery’
Mr. Pal said that Assistant Sub-Inspector Pawan, who is stationed at the Narela police station, was on patrol and immediately reached the spot and challenged the assailants but they managed to flee. “The officer chased the robbers, but the criminals escaped towards Haryana,” said Mr. Pal.
Meanwhile, Pankaj, Harish and Amit were rushed to a nearby hospital where Pankaj and Harish were declared brought dead while Amit is undergoing treatment.
Amit, who suffered an injury on his left arm, was not Pankaj’s regular driver and had been put on duty on Monday as the other driver was on leave.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the assailants were fully aware of the car’s movement and presence of cash in the vehicle.
“It is suspected that it was a planned robbery,” a senior police officer privy to the case said.
The police said they are questioning family members of the deceased to establish whether the victims had any personal enmity with anyone who would want to take revenge.
“Pankaj’s employees are also being questioned. While the list of robbers in the area is being checked, the role of an insider cannot be ruled out as the criminals were aware of his whereabouts,” the officer said.
The police are also scanning CCTV footage of the area to identify the motorcycle used in the crime.
Another incident
In another incident of firing, an alleged bad character of Narela police station, Ajay, was shot at around 8.30 p.m. by one Rajesh, allegedly due to personal enmity. “Ajay was out on bail in a robbery case. He and Rajesh were friends but their relationship soured over a personal matter,” said Mr. Pal.
