Delhi: 16-year-old business rivalry led to shooting, claims family of accused

“Kallu’s family was already in the business of running Blueline buses. The entry of a new player in the business did not go down well with him. Since then, the two had not been on talking terms. Their business rivalry worsened year after year,” said a resident.

After Blueline buses were phased out of Delhi roads, both of them got into property business, which turned into another reason for clash between the two.

Living almost 150 metres away from each other, the two families avoided crossing each other’s paths.

Kallu’s father Jage Ram (84) claimed that the situation turned violent in 2019 when Mann’s close aide, Sanjay Mehlawat, allegedly shot at one of his grandsons who was in Delhi for Diwali celebrations. “Wo bach gaya, theek hai. Lekin tab se baat bigad gayi (He survived and is fine, but things worsened since then),” he said, standing outside his house Wednesday.

He added that Mehlawat and Mann had also allegedly hit the bumper of their new car with a scooty. “Humari bahu aur bete, sab they us samay car mein (Our daughter-in-law and son, all were inside that car),” he claimed.

On Thursday afternoon, MLA Naresh Yadav reached Mann’s house to express condolences. Yadav, who was elected from this constituency (Mehrauli) Wednesday, waited with the father for the body to arrive.