Two associates of Lawrence Bishnoi held after a shootout in Delhi
The two were wanted for the murder of BJP leader Surender Matiala, police said, adding that one of the suspects is a minor
Delhi Police on Friday held two alleged associates of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi after a shoot-out in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave, for their role in killing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in April, said officers aware of the matter.
The two were wanted for the murder of BJP leader Surender Matiala, police said, adding that one of the suspects is a minor.
Ravindra Singh Yadav, special commissioner of police (crime), said police were tipped off about their presence at Safdarjung Enclave, allegedly plan the murder of rival gang members.
“A police team then reached the spot. At around 2am on Friday, the two came on a motorcycle. Police asked them to surrender but they responded by opening fire. The team too fired back in self-defence. No one was injured in the brief exchange of fire. After a brief scuffle, both the accused were overpowered,” Yadav said.
One of the arrested person was identified as Pankaj Kumar alias Baba, 22.
They were hired members of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Sampat Nehra gang to kill Matiala, police said after their interrogation. “Nandu and Godara tasked them to kill Matiala to spread terror in the locality. Now they were tasked to commit murder of a top member of the Neeraj Bawana gang,” the officer said.
On April 14, Matiala, 60, was shot dead inside his office in west Delhi’s Dwarka by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants.