Cops foil bid to shoot Munawar, 2 arrested

After a brief exchange of fire, sleuths of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell have nabbed two sharpshooters of the ‘Rohit Godara and Virender Charan’ gang and foiled their plan to kill stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, an official said on Thursday.

The police said the accused were identified as Haryana residents Rahul (29) of Panipat and Sahil (37) of Bhiwani. They were given directions from the gang leader, who is living abroad, to shoot Faruqui dead to gain publicity and expand the gang’s influence and terror among celebrities.

The police said the main motive of the gang was to start extorting money after creating fear among celebrities. The same syndicate was behind the firing outside Bollywood actress Disha Patani’s home in Bareilly.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah said the Counter-Intelligence Unit had received credible information regarding their presence in the Capital, and a trap was laid on the Kalindi Kunj-Jaitpur Pushta road in south-east Delhi.

The motorcycle-borne duo was intercepted and signalled to stop. However, they opened fire at the team. When the team retaliated, the two accused were injured and rushed to a hospital.

The official said that the accused had also conducted recce in Bengaluru and Mumbai to kill him, but the same could not be materialised due to communication gaps, and were thereafter diverted to Delhi to carry out the target killing.

Kushwah said Rahul was also involved in numerous criminal activities, including a sensational triple murder committed in Yamunanagar in December last year. As per preliminary interrogations, he was one of the ‘unidentified’ criminals involved in the said gruesome crime.

He was also arrested in a case registered under the Arms Act in Gangashahar, Bikaner, in February this year. Even in that case, he was sent for targeted killing of a local target of extortion on behalf of the Rohit Godara-Virender Charan gang.

Meanwhile, Sahil has been previously involved in multiple cases of financial misconduct, hearing in which are ongoing in Bhiwani and Sirsa courts.