Double murder in Delhi: Breaking promise of Rs 70,000 led to murder of man and teenage nephew, cops say | Delhi News

The late Akash Sharma (left) and Rishabh (right)

NEW DELHI: Diwali eve turned into a nightmare for an East Delhi family Stuffing Bazaar when two gunmen unleashed a hail of bullets outside his home, killing a 40-year-old man, Akash Sharmaand his 16-year-old nephew, Rishabh. Sharma’s 13-year-old son Krish was seriously injured.
The incident took place around 8 p.m. on Thursday when the family was celebrating Diwali outside their house. CCTV footage shows that the attackers stopped the scooter, leaned down to touch Sharma’s feet and started shooting while chasing Sharma into his house. Rishabh was shot dead when he managed to catch one of them. The police arrested a minor (a few months before he turned 18) for this crime.

Police are looking for a second suspect, who is the main shooter caught on camera.
Police said the motive for the crime seemed to be a dispute over an amount of Rs 70,000, adding that Sharma, real estate dealer and loan shark, last month he allegedly ordered a teenager to shoot up a house. “On Diwali night, the same teenager along with his accomplice shot dead Sharma as he did not pay,” said a senior police officer.

Investigation revealed that the minor, who was the main conspirator in the case, was a distant relative of Sharma and worked for him as a trader. It is alleged that he also has a criminal record. “The accused teenager claimed that he was promised around Rs 70,000. However, after the incident, Sharma kept his promise by avoiding repeated attempts by the minor to take the money,” the police officer said, adding that a few days ago, Sharma had also had an argument with the accused’s father.

“It appears that the frustrated and angry juvenile allegedly hatched a sinister plan for revenge. He hired a killer, paying him a handsome sum of Rs 1.5 lakh to carry out the killing,” a senior police officer said, citing the disclosures made by the accused.
Police sources suggest that Sharma may have been aware of the threat to his life. “He has recently resorted to self-imposed isolation, minimizing his time away from home,” said a relative who did not want to be named.

DCP Prashant Gautam confirmed that deceased Sharma had a criminal background. Sources say that its first case was recorded in 2004. “He was booked with two counts of causing injury. In 2006, a gambling charge was added to his criminal profile. In 2013, he was embroiled in a fraud case. However, it was in 2015 that he was convicted of kidnapping and gang rape. Most of these incidents, including incidents of injury, gambling and cheating, were reported from the Farsh Bazar area,” a senior officer said. A rape case was registered on VivekViharhe added. Last year, Sharma was also charged with attempted murder.
His elder brother Yogesh Sharma, whose son Rishabh was killed in the shootout, was also allegedly involved in 14 cases. Talking to TOI, Yogesh claimed that he was the real target of the attack. He also claimed that he had received threatening phone calls a few days before the incident.

Sharma’s elderly mother claimed that the minor, who has now been arrested and was seen riding a scooter in the video, had visited the house a few days ago and called the family asking them to come down as he wanted to welcome them and give them a box of sweets. The family claimed that the minors had been conspiring for some time.
Neighbors are shocked by the gruesome event. They said the shots were first masked by the sound of crackers. It wasn’t until they heard screams that they realized something was wrong.
One of them, Meenu Devi, said: “I was returning from a nearby shop when I saw attackers shooting at someone on our street. I saw them both running away on a scooter. As we approached, we saw blood pouring from the front door and spilling into the street.”
The police are analyzing the juvenile’s testimony to confirm the details of the conspiracy. They will confirm this version with the testimony of the second suspect, he added.