New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Two motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang opened fire at two business premises here on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday and subsequently,
abandoned the vehicle, believed to be stolen, before fleeing, police sources said.
The assailants first fired at a gymnasium run by a social-media influencer in Paschim Vihar and later, at the house of a property dealer in West Vinod Nagar. Randeep Malik, a US-based gangster and a known associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Police, however, suspect that the actual execution on the ground was carried out by Hashim Baba gang operatives.
According to the sources, the assailants abandoned their motorcycle in east Delhi shortly after the West Vinod Nagar incident and fled. The two-wheeler was recently stolen from Haryana, strengthening suspicions that the attackers had a pre-planned escape strategy.
Police said the shooters were aged below 25 years, wore helmets to conceal their identities and are suspected to be members of the Hashim Baba gang and residents of northeast Delhi.
The Special Cell and the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police have been roped in to probe the incidents, besides an earlier firing incident in Rohini, which police believe could be linked.
The Paschim Vihar incident took place around 11 pm on Monday when the assailants fired multiple rounds outside a popular gym after its owner allegedly refused to heed to an extortion demand for Rs 5 crore. While some rounds were fired in the air, some were also shot at the glass of the gym.
The assailants were captured on CCTV cameras, with the footage showing two men arriving on a motorcycle and opening fire, before fleeing. Several people were inside the gym at the time of the incident, but none were hurt, police said.
Investigators said the two firing incidents were carried out within an hour, pointing to a coordinated extortion attempt. Social media posts and audio clips claiming responsibility for the attacks soon surfaced, allegedly in the name of the Bishnoi gang.
The case has taken on an international dimension with the emergence of Malik, who has claimed responsibility for the attacks through social media and also sent audio messages. Malik, a United States-based transporter, is wanted by the Delhi Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in multiple cases.
Police said Malik is wanted in more than half-a-dozen cases, including for sending threats to celebrities and running extortion rackets, and is suspected of orchestrating the killing of gym owner Nadir Shah in south Delhi's Greater Kailash-I area last year.
Adding to the investigators' concerns, Malik is also under the scanner of the Lisbon Police after he allegedly shot at rival gang members outside a godown in Portugal in September last year, the sources said.
"There is a strong possibility that instructions in the Delhi firing cases were received from abroad," a police source said, noting that similar incidents linked to Bishnoi's network have previously been reported in Canada as well.
The sources warned that the ongoing gang war between the Bishnoi and Goldy Brar factions could lead to more such attacks in the coming days. The Delhi Police has intensified surveillance, while multiple teams are working to identify and trace the shooters, map escape routes and establish the full chain of handlers behind the attacks. PTI SSJ RC
