GURGAON: Four associates of notorious gangster Deepak Nandal were killed and another injured in a late-night encounter with Gurugram Police in Sushant Lok on Thursday while allegedly attempting to extort money from a businessman, officials said.The gunfight erupted in Sushant Lok A Block, where businessman and property dealer Vishal Beri, son of the founder of SGT University, resides, according to news agency PTI.Police said more than 60 rounds were fired during the exchange. Three police personnel also sustained bullet injuries.According to investigators, Beri had allegedly been receiving extortion threats from Nandal, who is believed to be operating from abroad. His associates had allegedly demanded several crores of rupees from the businessman.Police said the five gang members reached Beri’s residence around 9.50 pm and allegedly held him hostage while he was alone at home.Crime Branch teams received information through the Police Control Room about armed men travelling in a black Scorpio SUV. By the time officers reached the area, the suspects had allegedly begun firing at Beri’s residence using sophisticated weapons.Officials said police teams asked the accused to surrender, but they allegedly opened fire on the officers. During the ensuing encounter, four of the suspects were killed while one suffered bullet injuries. Beri was rescued safely.The deceased have been identified as Aryan, Nitin and Ankit, all residents of Rohtak, and Sandeep alias Deepa, a resident of Fatehabad. The injured accused, identified as Shivam, is a resident of Kota Bisar village in Nuh district.
Do you believe the police response was adequate during the encounter?
3k+ users shared opinion today
5k+ users already voted today
3k+ users shared opinion today
According to news agency PTI, police recovered five modern pistols, over 50 empty cartridges, live ammunition and the Scorpio SUV from the spot.The injured policemen — ASI Sunil, Constable Manjit and Constable Shamsher of the Crime Branch Sector-40 unit — were admitted to Medanta Hospital for treatment.Nandal, once associated with the Haryanvi music industry, is wanted in multiple cases including extortion, murder, kidnapping and ransom demands in Haryana and Delhi.Police said he allegedly runs his criminal network from overseas and recruits youths through social media.While officials did not specify his location, he has reportedly been active in countries including the UAE, the UK and Canada.Police said intelligence inputs had been received over the past several days regarding possible targets of the gang. Based on those inputs, Crime Branch teams from Sectors 40, 39 and 17 were deployed and a strategic cordon was established around the area.Preliminary verification revealed that Nitin was named in two criminal cases in Rohtak related to attempted murder and illegal possession of arms.Sandeep was found to have 14 criminal cases registered against him, including offences under the Arms Act, NDPS Act and other serious charges.“The bodies of criminals have been sent to a mortuary for the post-mortem examination. Details regarding the slain criminals, weapons recovered, and other facts would be shared after verification. A further probe is underway,” a spokesperson of Gurugram police said.Scientific evidence was collected in the presence of an Executive Magistrate. A detailed inspection of the crime scene was conducted. We will arrest the injured accused after discharge from the hospital. A further probe is underway”, ACP (Crime) Naveen Sharma said.
