Delhi Police suspects jailed gangsters’ involvement in INLD leader’s murder

PTI, Feb 27, 2024, 8:10 AM IST

Nafe Singh Rathee (Credit: X/@AbhaySChautala)

New Delhi: The Delhi Police is suspecting the involvement of sharpshooters of jailed gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Kala Jathedi in the killing of Indian National Lok Dal leader Nafe Singh Rathee, official sources said.

The possibility of foreign-based gangsters like Himanshu Bhau — believed to be staying in Portugal and executing murders in India — playing a role in Rathee’s murder has also not been ruled out, they said.

On Monday, teams of Delhi Police’s Crime Branch and Special Cell, who are actively working on the interstate gangsters’ network, visited the crime spot in Jhajjar where Rathee, the chief of INLD’s Haryana unit, and party worker Jai Kishan were shot dead, officials said.

At least five teams of the Delhi Police Special Cell and four teams of the Crime Branch visited the spot. The teams of Delhi Police have also exchanged inputs with their counterparts in Haryana, officials said.

‘It is suspected that gang members of jailed gangsters might have taken the contract to eliminate Rathee for money,’ said the officer.

The gangs of Bishnoi and Jathedi are thriving on extortions and contract killings in Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Rajasthan, he said.

Many of the gang members are aged below 18 years and have already been involved in several murders, another Delhi Police officer said.

Delhi Police officials said the way Rathee was executed, points to the involvement of the jailed gangsters.

Rajput Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was also killed similarly as the assailants had fired multiple shots at him, an officer said.

The shooters were associated with Rohit Godara, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Godly Brar gang, and used foreign-made Zigana and Beretta pistols, he said.

Similarly, in the murder of Rathee, the attackers used high-tech and sophisticated weapons, he added.

Rathee and Jai Kishan were killed when unidentified assailants sprayed their vehicle with bullets at Bahadurgarh, near Delhi, on Sunday. The attacker fled from the scene in a car, soon after the shooting.

According to the FIR, Haryana Police have booked 12 people, including former BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik, in connection with Rathee’s killing.

The FIR said, the assailants who shot dead Rathee told his nephew, who was driving the vehicle, that they were sparing his life so that he could inform his family.

Haryana Police has suspected that the killing was due to personal enmity and a property dispute.