Gang War Suspected, 4 Arrested: What We Know About Afghan-Origin Gym Owner's Murder in Delhi

New Delhi: Two days after an Afghan-origin man was shot dead in Delhi's Greater Kailash area, police have arrested four people in connection with the case. The victim, Nadir Shah, was shot multiple times by miscreants. Later Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility of the attack. Moreover, the special cell of the Delhi Police had detained six people for questioning, out of which 4 were placed under arrest.

Gang War Suspected, 4 Arrested

Police suspect gang war behind the murder. "These four are suspected to have provided logistical support to the shooters. They are being further interrogated by a Special Cell team," news agency PTI quoted a senior officer as saying. 

The arrested accused have been identified as Nitalesh Tiwari, Vishal Verma and Akash Yadav of Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, and Naveen Baliyan of Haryana 's Sonipat. Two country-made pistols and eight live rounds were seized from their possession. Police said the main shooter is still on the run. The police also suspect the involvement of associates of jailed gangster Hashim Baba in the murder.

Rohit Godara, a member of the gang, in a post on social media claimed responsibility for murder. In the post, Rohit disclosed the the motive for the attack, saying that the victim was trying to create hurdles of the operations of the group. He concluded his post with a warning for their rival groups, saying "Wait & Watch."

7-8 Rounds of Bullets Fired

According to the DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan, police officials received a PCR call regarding the incident that occurred in the E-block of GKC (Greater Kailash), at around 10:45 pm. He added that 7-8 rounds of bullets were fired.

Shah was talking to a friend outside the gym when he was shot fatally at around 10.44 pm, police said. CCTV camera footage purporting to show Shah talking to a person as an attacker walks towards him and fires a volley of bullets from close range later surfaced on social media.

Shah, who previously had criminal cases of extortion, robbery and attempted murder registered against him -- co-owned a gym in Greater Kailash 1. He would also lend money on very high interest rates, as per police sources. The victim, who owned a business in Dubai, was believed to have known some Delhi police officials. He is survived by his mother and two brothers. Shah's father hailed from Afghanistan and moved to Delhi several years ago.

(With PTI inputs)