Gun attack on Dwarka woman was ‘revenge for suicide’

The gun attack on a car-borne woman in west Delhi’s Dwarka earlier this month was revenge for a suicide that took place in December, police said on Tuesday after arresting five men in connection with the crime.

Investigators zeroed in on the attackers’ village in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri after checking hours and hours of footage from CCTV cameras installed along 40 kilometres of roads.

Madhup Tewari, joint commissioner of police (western range), said the arrested men included the main planner, two contract killers and two others who had arranged weapons and vehicles to carry out the attack. “The contract was given for R5 lakh of which R2 lakh had been paid in advance,” said JCP Tewari.

For the first few days after the attack on July 11, police waited for the 30-year-old woman to regain consciousness and provide clues. But she is in a “vegetative state” at a Dwarka hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries.

The victim was shot in her neck by two motorcycle-borne men on a road outside Radisson Blu Hotel at 8 am on July 11 while she was returning home after dropping her son at school. The attack caused her to lose control over her car that jumped a verge to crash into a footpath.

JCP Tewari said eyewitnesses couldn’t provide credible clues about the attackers and police formed seven teams to crack the case. Since the woman shared a strained relationship with her husband, they first suspected him before clarifying they found no evidence of his involvement.

“We analysed footage from CCTV cameras installed along all possible routes the attackers may have taken to escape. That helped us identify their motorcycle and clothes, but we soon realised they changed their two-wheeler and their clothes along the way,” said JCP Tewari.

Over the next few days, the officer said, footage from hundreds of CCTV cameras was checked. “The footage allowed us to follow their movement over a 40-kilometre long route before we landed at a village in Fatehpur Beri. We showed the images to villagers who identified the killers,” said the officer.

But the suspects had fled, sending the police on a seven-state hunt. Finally, call records of the suspects led police to the alleged mastermind, Chandra Prakash, a 27-year-old tour and travel agent.

“Prakash’s uncle, Prem Chand, were friends with the victim since they were both real estate agents. Chand committed suicide last December, prompting his wife to blame the woman’s friendship with him for his step. Prakash decided to avenge his uncle’s death by getting the woman killed,” said JCP Tewari.

Prakash, who was arrested in 2015 for another murder, contacted Giriraj Singh Tomar, a rape accused he had befriended in jail, the officer said. “Prakash sought Tomar’s help to kill the woman and promised him R5 lakh for the work. Tomar roped in his friend Pinku and they carried out the attack,” said the officer.

The other two suspects, Gulab and Narender, were arrested for allegedly providing guns and motorcycles. Police said all five men have criminal cases ranging from rape to murder registered against them in the past.

The sister of the injured woman refused to comment on the police’s findings, saying that she was yet to meet the investigators after the arrests were made.