Hired shooters miss the mark, bullet hits man’s chest; police yet to arrest them

A 30-year-old drug dealer who staged an attack on himself to frame his rival, was killed when the bullet missed its mark and hit him in the chest at Khajuri Khas of north-east district on Tuesday.

“The plot unfolded when a man who brought the injured to a hospital was grilled. During questioning, he broke down and narrated the entire sequence,” said a senior police officer.

The deceased has been identified as Manoj Kumar, a resident of east Delhi’s Yamuna Bazar area. He was a drug dealer and had been booked earlier in similar cases. Manoj had divorced his first wife, Sunita, and married another woman a few years ago. “He used to supply drugs in the area. During business, he got in touch with his estranged wife and they started working in partnership,” the officer said.

Business rivalry

Manoj wanted to take over the charge of distribution of drugs in the area. In order to remove his rival, he hatched a plot to falsely implicate his rival. He staged an attack on himself and thought that the rival would be jailed for it. By the time the rival would be released, Manoj’s business would have had flourished by taking over all the clients, the police said.

“He involved his former wife Sunita, who in turn roped in her husband and other relatives. They planned to ‘shoot’ Manoj in the hand and leg. A man [Sunita’s brother] would accompany Kumar who would rush him to a hospital for treatment. Sunita hired two men to shoot Manoj and paid them an advance of ₹20,000,” said the officer.

Two bullets

At 12.30 am, Manoj and Sunita’s brother Ajay were strolling at Khajuri Khas when two persons on a bike shot him twice. One bullet hit him on the leg.

However, the other bullet missed the hand and hit his chest. Manoj collapsed and was taken to GTB Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the police said.

“The hospital informed the police about the case. A PCR rushed to the hospital. Ajay, who was with him during the incident alleged that the two men on a red motorcycle shot Manoj and fled. He introduced himself as the deceased’s friend,” the officer said.

“Ajay claimed to have known Manoj only for the past two-three months. During questioning, he told that he lives in Loni area of Ghaziabad. He was unable to explain his presence at that hour with the deceased at the time of the attack. We found several discrepancies in his statement. On further questioning, he broke down and revealed the entire plot,” the officer said.

Other plotters arrested

It is unclear how their plan went wrong. Police suspect that the shooters missed their mark because of darkness. “Ajay has claimed that he was standing at a distance and could not see what exactly transpired. There will be clarity when we arrest the two shooters,” said the officer.

The police have so far arrested Sunita’s brother Ajay who was allegedly present at the crime spot. “We have also detained Sunita and other persons who were involved in the plot,” the police said.