New Delhi: Around midnight on Oct 15, two masked men on a motorcycle allegedly opened fire at the main gate of the residence of a businessman in northeast Delhi and left behind a slip threatening him.What appeared to be a brazen late-night show of intimidation soon unravelled into an alleged extortion conspiracy, with Delhi Police arresting four people.The target was a businessman dealing in wholesale T-shirts in Gandhi Nagar’s bustling cloth market. Police allege that the firing was orchestrated to frighten him into paying up, with threats and an offer to settle the matter forming part of a larger conspiracy.According to police, the four men, Ekant Bhati alias Masterji, Akash, Monty and Ashish Dedha, had conspired to extort money from the businessman and hired two persons to carry out the firing.Just after the incident, the businessman approached police. While examining CCTV footage, the complainant spotted two masked bikers outside his residence. The pillion rider is seen throwing an object inside the premises and firing a shot at the main gate before fleeing.A slip threatening him was found near the gate, after which the businessman received an extortion call from a US-based phone number, said police. During the investigation, the businessman said one Akash, who lived as his tenant in the same locality, later approached him and offered to get the matter settled for “lakhs of rupees”.Police said, “A person was seen on CCTV footage signalling to the shooters with his thumb, providing a crucial lead in the probe. Bhati was apprehended on Oct 16. Later, he tried misleading the probe team, but sustained interrogation, corroborated by technical evidence, revealed the conspiracy to extort money from the businessman.”The remaining three accused were picked up on Oct 17. Three phones, containing technical evidence, were seized. All four allegedly admitted their involvement in the conspiracy. Two of them, Bhati and Dedha, have previous criminal involvement.Further investigation is in progress to identify and apprehend the alleged shooters.
