Delhi: On vigilantes' hit list are anti-nationals, drug dealers

NEW DELHI: Less than 24 hours after a 32-year-old man was shot dead in Dwarka on Monday by a gang claiming to be vigilantes, police suspect the killers may have struck again on Tuesday afternoon.
Two brothers, Pradeep (21) and Pawan (19), were on a motorcycle that brushed against a Hyundai Verna near Kanjhawala. After an argument, the men in the car opening fire, killing Pradeep.During police investigations, Pawan was shown pictures of known criminals. He identified one of the shooters, who is also a suspect in the Dwarka murder case.
Monday's incident, the victim, Vikas alias Vikky, was shot over a dozen times in Sector 22 of Dwarka around 9.30pm. The police found a note on the man's body in which the killers claimed to be a vigilante group taking revenge against people found involved in "crimes against society". The one-page note also mentioned the names of the vigilante group members. Police, however, suspect this murder to be fallout of a gang war between two groups that took place in Gurgaon in May and believe the killers were hired by a gangster to eliminate his rivals. Vikas had four fatal bullet wounds from the dozen rounds fired at him. Cops suspect four men in a sedan had waylaid him while he was returning home after conducting tuition classes.
The note says that the idea behind the killing was to bring peace in the area. The group claims to have killed three other gangsters - Pappu Gurjar, Puneet Kharkhari and Binder Gurjar - in the past few months. They also claimed to have shot at one Hemant in Gurgaon, but did not kill him as they only wanted to "teach him a lesson" on the instructions from one Umesh. The hitlist of the vigilantes includes drug dealers, anti-nationals, men accused of acid attacks and rap and quacks .
The group claimed that they would gun them down using sophisticated weapons. The note ends with seeking help from the government.
Officers said that the killers may be using the note to divert the probe towards a vigilante gang instead of hired killers who work for gangsters. The note has been sent for forensic analysis and probe is to identify the gang members whose names have been mentioned in it. Police are questioning Vikas' family members to find out whether he was involved in criminal cases. The possibility of a property dispute behind the murder has not been ruled out. The preliminary autopsy report reveals that he was shot at a close range with country-made pistols.
Sources said that a similar note was found after the murder of a gangster in Najafagarh a few months ago.