Ashok Rathi gang leader shot dead on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway; 15 rounds fired, say police

Unidentified individuals shot dead Deepak, 35, a notorious criminal associated with the Ashok Rathi gang, inside his car on a service lane of the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway near Sidhrawali in Bilaspur on Sunday night, Diwali, police said on Monday.

Deepak, who hailed from Sidhrawali, was found in the driver’s seat of his bullet-riddled Maruti Swift car, police said.

A senior police officer said Deepak was currently handling all the operations of the Ashok Rathi gang.

“He became the gang leader after Rathi was murdered almost six years ago. Deepak had at least four criminal cases registered against him,” he said.

Also Read:Day after Diwali, grey haze darkens Delhi skies

Investigators said the incident took place between 11.30pm and 11.45pm on Sunday but came to light around 8am on Monday, when commuters spotted the car with a body in the driver’s seat. Soon after receiving the information, teams from Bilaspur and neighbouring police stations, crime branch personnel and forensic experts reached the spot, police said. The killing may have been the fallout of a gang war, they added.

According to the police, at least 15 to 20 rounds were fired at the car, which was possibly intercepted by the suspects using another vehicle. The suspects arrived in the second car minutes after Deepak left home and reached the service lane, police said.

Also Read:Six burnt alive as speeding car crashes into pole, divider in UP’s Muzaffarnagar

Investigators said there were at least 10 to 15 bullet holes in Deepak’s car. Police suspect the attackers fired from two sides to ensure he was killed.

Investigators said the exact number of bullets that hit Deepak would be established only after the post-mortem examination.

Inspector Sunil Kumar, station house officer of Bilaspur police station, said a first information report (FIR) under section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act was in the process of being registered. “Raids were on to nab the suspects,” he added.