Gang war resulted in yet another gory killing in the capital when an armed gang hacked to death one of its former associates while he was working out in a gym at Santoshnagar on Monday.
The victim, Ahmed Ali Khan, 35, was exercising in God's Power Gym located on I.S. Sadan-Yadagiri theatre stretch around 9.30 a.m. when nine persons -- some of them masked -- carrying swords and daggers barged inside. Shouting and screaming, the killers lunged at Khan while the scared gym owner, workers and other members ran out.
The attackers stabbed Khan indiscriminately. In the melee, two of them -- Yasin and Abdullah -- sustained bleeding wounds. The police later found Yasin who was admitted in Yashoda hospital's Malakpet branch, while Abdullah got discharged as outpatient.
Death was instant for Khan with multiple wounds all over the body. Alerted by the gym owner, the police rushed to the spot and launched a hunt for the killers. “We suspect that the Jaffar Pahelwan gang, based in old city, was responsible for the killing. Khan worked with Pahelwan earlier but joined the gang of Fayaz of late,” the Santoshnagar police said.
Even Pahelwan was believed to have taken part in the killing but the matter was under investigation, they said. While living in Talabkatta, Khan was an active member of Pahelwan's gang. His name figured in the brutal killing of a person called Salem the previous year at Talabkatta following which a history-sheet was opened against him by the Bhavaninagar police.
He left the gang after having developed differences with Pahelwan and shifted to Chandrayanagutta where he started crockery business. Khan eventually joined the gang of Fayaz, an arch rival of Pahelwan, inviting wrath of the latter.
Threat calls
Four months ago, an attempt was made on the life of Khan when he went to attend a case at Nampally Criminal Court Complex. “We believe Pahelwan is behind the murder. My brother had been receiving threat calls for the past one week,” the victim's brother told the police.
