A 30-year-old undertrial was shot dead from point-blank range near a police post inside the premises of Rohini District Courts here on Monday.
According to the police, the incident was a fallout of a gang rivalry. The victim, Vinod, who was being tried in a cheating case, was shot while being escorted into the court premises around 11:20 a.m. He had been arrested on October 30. The accused, one Abdul Khan, was arrested from the spot.
“Khan shot Vinod in the back when the latter was being escorted inside the court complex under police security by the Third Battalion, which is in-charge of escorting undertrials to court from prisons and back. The incident occurred around 11:20 a.m,” said a senior police officer.
Hired killer
Quoting eyewitnesses and police officers who were escorting him, the senior officer said Khan was overpowered by police officers after the shooting. He claimed that he had been hired to kill Vinod by incarcerated gangster Neeraj Bawana.
Police personnel and bystanders rushed to the spot where Vinod had been hit. He was rushed to the Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Vinod, according to police records, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a land fraud case dating back to 2010 in Rohini. He had earlier been arrested in 2010, following which he jumped bail.
“We are in the process of verifying Khan's claims of having been hired by Bawana gun Vinod down. Khan's connection to Bawana as well as whether the killing is connected in any way to the alleged cheating case in which Vinod was involved are also being checked. He is being questioned,” the officer said.
