New Delhi

Three killed in gang-war

NEW DELHI: In a shootout between two rival gangs, a 32-year-old registered bad character was shot dead by two unidentified assailants who in turn were killed in retaliatory fire by the former’s henchmen at Seelampur in the Capital’s trans-Yamuna area late on Tuesday night. No arrests have been made so far.

It all happened around midnight when two young men on a motorcycle opened fire at Shamim Chaudhry, who had a dozen criminal cases registered against him, when he was standing outside his house along with his friends. Four bullets hit Shamim. He was rushed to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

When the assailants tried to flee, Shamim’s men allegedly fired in retaliation killing both of them. The registration number of the motorcycle used by the two assailants was found to be fake, but they are yet to be identified.

A neighbour speaking on condition of anonymity said Shamim was standing near Central Bank around 11-30 p.m. along with his friends when two men on a motorcycle opened fire at him. “I heard five gunshots. A few minutes later I heard a few more gunshots fired at a distance. I later learnt that the two assailants were also shot dead. Their bodies were lying in a pool of blood,” he added.

The police reportedly found over a dozen live cartridges in the pocket of one of the two assailants. One of the men wore a wig apparently to conceal his identity.

Shamim had several cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion registered against him and was a registered bad character of the Seelampur area, the police said.

“He mostly dealt in disputed property in the Jama Masjid area and had several men working for him,” said a senior police officer.

“The shootout appears to be the fallout of inter-gang rivalry. We have registered a case and efforts are on to arrest Shamim’s men who opened fire at the assailants and establish the identity of the motorcyclists,” said the officer.

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