NEW DELHI: A festive Diwali evening turned into a nightmare for a family in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar when two armed assailants unleashed a hail of bullets outside their home, killing a 40-year-old man, Akash Sharma, and his 16-year-old nephew, Rishabh. Sharma’s 13-year-old son, Krish, was left critically injured.
The incident occurred around 8pm on Thursday as the fa mily celebrated Diwali outside their house. CCTV footage shows that the assailants stopped their scooty, bent to touch Sharma’s feet and started fi ring while chasing Sharma into his house. Rishabh was shot when he managed to catch one of them. Police have apprehended a juvenile (a few months short of 18) for the crime.
Police are looking for the second suspect who is the main shooter caught on camera.
Police claimed a dispute over Rs 70,000 seems to be the motive for the crime, adding that Sharma, a property dealer and money lender, had allegedly tasked a teenager to fire at a house last month. “On Diwali night, the same teenager, along with his accomplice, gunned down Sharma as he didn’t pay up,” said a senior cop.
Investigation has revealed that the juvenile, who was the main conspirator in the case, was a distant relative of Sharma and worked as a punter for him. He is claimed to have a criminal record as well. “The accused teenager has claimed that he was promised around Rs 70,000. However, after the incident, Sharma reneged on his promise, evading the juvenile’s repeated attempts to collect the money,” a cop said, adding that Sharma also had an argument with the accused’s father a few days ago.
“Frustrated and enraged, the juvenile allegedly devised a sinister plan for revenge, it seems. He hired a hitman, paying a hefty sum of Rs 1.5 lakh to him to carry out the killing,” the senior cop said, citing the accused’s disclosure.
Police sources suggested that Sharma may have been aware of the threat to his life. “He had resorted to self-imposed isolation of late, minimising the time spent outside his home,” said a relative who didn’t want to be named.
DCP Prashant Gautam confirmed that the deceased Sharma had a criminal history. Sources said that his first case was recorded way back in 2004. “He was booked in two cases of causing hurt. In 2006, a gambling charge was added to his criminal profile. The year 2013 saw him entangled in a cheating case. How ever, it was in 2015 that he was booked for kidnapping and gang rape. Most of these incidents, including the cases of hurt, gambling and cheating, were reported from the Farsh Bazar area,” said the senior officer. The rape case was registered in Vivek Vihar, he added. Last year, Sharma had also been booked on the charge of attempted murder.
His elder brother, Yogesh Sharma -whose son Rishabh was killed in the firing -was also allegedly involved in 14 cases. Speaking to TOI, Yogesh claimed that he was the real target of the attack. He also claimed that he had received threatening phone calls days prior to the incident.
Sharma’s elderly mother stated that the juvenile who has been apprehended now and was seen on a scooter in the footage had visited the house a few days ago and called out the family, asking them to come downstairs as he wanted to greet them and give them a box of sweets. The family claimed that the juvenile had been plotting for some time.
The neighbours were shocked over the gruesome incident. They said the gunshots were first masked by the sound of crackers. It was only when they heard the screams that they realised something was wrong.
One of them, Meenu Devi, said: “I was returning from a nearby shop when I saw the assailants shooting someone on our street. I saw the two fleeing on a scooty. As we approached, we saw blood covering the front door and spilling onto the street.”
Cops are scrutinising the juvenile’s testimony to corroborate the details of the plot. They will corroborate the version with the statement by the second suspect, they said.
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