Gangster Sunil Sardhania held at Delhi airport for attack on singer Fazilpuria, property dealer’s murder

Gangster Sunil Sardhania, the main accused in the firing on Haryanvi singer Rahul Fazilpuria and the murder of property dealer Rohit Shaukeen, was arrested from the Delhi International Airport in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

The accused had returned to India from Costa Rica and was arrested upon his arrival at the airport. However, sources claimed he was deported from Zurich, Switzerland and brought to India.

According to police, Sardhania and his associate Deepak Nandal had claimed responsibility for the firing at Fazilpuria’s vehicle in Sector 71 on the Southern Peripheral Road on July 14 and for shooting dead Shaukeen near Palm Hills society in Sector 77.

“The accused was involved in planning and providing shooters and weapons for the firing at singer Rahul Fazilpuria, the murder of Rohit Shaukeen, and an attack at a property dealer’s office in Gurugram,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Karan Goel said.

He said the accused has been remanded in police custody for five days for questioning. “During remand, he will be interrogated about his associates and other criminal incidents,” the DCP said.

Police said Sardhania was serving a life sentence and a 10-year sentence in separate murder cases. After securing bail, he fled abroad in 2024 using a fake passport issued in the name of Sunil Singh with an address in Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar.

“He travelled to Central America via Dubai and continued coordinating with his associates to plan and execute crimes,” Goel said.

A team from the crime unit, Sector 31, led by Inspector Anand Kumar, arrested the 39-year-old gangster, who is from Sardhana village in Sonipat district, he added.

A total of 24 cases of serious offences have been against him and his associates in Haryana’s Jind, Rohtak, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Hisar, Sonipat, Ambala, Bhiwani and Panchkula districts, and Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat and Agra districts.

“In the case of murder and firing in Gurugram, we had earlier arrested seven people — Vishal, Hitesh, Gautam alias Chotu, Ramandeep, Shbhan, Shakti Panchal and Ramniwas. We are questioning Sardhania”, DCP Goel said.

Gurugram police also released a video of the gangster in which he can be seen falling onto his knees and appealing to people not to get into the world of crime.

“I, Sunil Sardhania, have been in the world of crime for the last 15 years, with cases of murder and attempted murder registered against me. There is nothing in this crime world. I appeal to all that stay safe at home and never connect with any criminal, who will only use you and you will regret it later. So stay home, home is the best,” he said in the video.