Prime accused held in Dhaba owner killing case: Gurugram Police

Gurugram, April 21 (IANS) A crime branch team of the Gurugram Police arrested the prime accused in connection with the dhaba owner killing case over an old enmity, said police on Monday.

The police identified the accused as Hritik, a resident of Jatauli village in Gurugram.

Sandeep Kumar, Spokesperson of the Gurugram Police, said that the accused was arrested by a team from the crime branch in Jammu on Sunday.

“In the police investigation, it was found that Hrithik had hatched a conspiracy to carry out the crime and provided money to arrange bikes and weapons for the shooters,” he said.

The spokesperson added that from the observation of the criminal record of the accused, it was found that four other cases, including assault, threat to kill, kidnapping, and Arms Act, were registered against the accused at the Pataudi Police Station in Gurugram.

Meanwhile, with the arrest of the prime accused, the police have claimed to have arrested nine criminals, including two sharpshooters, for allegedly gunning down a dhaba owner over an old enmity.

The spokesperson said that the police arrested the accused from Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) on Friday, adding tha the accused were identified as Vicky, Harsh, Vishal, Puneet, Vipin, Manthan Sharma, and Nikhil, all residents of different villages of Gurugram, and Saurabh, a resident of Morena in Madhya Pradesh.

He said that during police interrogation, it was found that accused Puneet and Vipin were the shooters, and at the time of the incident, accused Manthan was standing with a bike, and the other accused, Vicky, Harsh, Vishal, and Nikhil, were standing outside with weapons like axes, etc.

The spokesperson said that the weapons used in the case were provided by the accused, Saurabh.

“The dhaba owner was identified as Deepender, alias Monu, 37, of Jatauli, and his worker, Mahender, 50, a resident of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

He said that the incident occurred at 'Jhopdi Dhaba' here in Gurugram, adding that the assailants had asked for a soft drink and then opened fire on the dhaba owner, Deepender, who was declared dead at the hospital, and Mahender was referred to Gurugram.

Deepender’s brother and the complainant, Rohit, shared, “Three people had come to the dhaba on a motorcycle with covered faces and asked for a cold drink. They fired at my brother, during which a worker was also wounded."

On Rohit's complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Police Station Pataudi, Gurugram.

--IANS

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