Four persons, including a national-level cyclist and a teacher, have been arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell in connection with a firing incident at a jewellery store in north-west Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, officials said on Monday.
The incident took place on August 24, when gunmen opened fire at the shop. The attackers left a letter before fleeing, demanding a ransom of ₹1 crore from the owner. “The accused conducted recce of jewellery shops in Delhi-NCR. After selecting their target, they stole a motorcycle and acquired SIM cards on fake IDs,” a police officer said, adding that they first zeroed in on Nikki Bidhudi and Hemant, a BSc dropout and a former national-level cyclist.
Hemant had arranged the SIM cards to make extortion calls, a senior officer said. The interrogation of the accused led the police to the main shooter, Aakash, and his co-conspirator Harender alias KD, a teacher by profession, DCP (Special Cell) Manoj C. said.
“Despite having a stable and respectable job, he was interested in the crime world. It led to him being involved in two criminal cases. He was responsible for selecting the targeted shop,” the DCP added.
Hemant got associated with the criminal world after he left his studies, the DCP said. He was imprisoned for making extortion calls, and it was in jail that he became deeply involved with gangsters, one of whom, Preet alias Baba Gujjar, he continues to be associated with even after his release, he added.