NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old associate of gangster Rohit Godara was arrested in connection with the firing at Deepak Khatri, an advocate with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The incident took place on February 24, near Kashmere Gate.
The accused had fled to Jaipur and reached Bangkok to escape to Dubai but was deported from Thailand before being nabbed from Majra Dabas village in Delhi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Raja Banthia said.
As the rivalry between the Godara and Bishnoi gangs intensified following the killing of Sukhdeep, alias Sippa, in Dubai in November last year, the Godara gang targeted Khatri. Also, in December, Inderpreet, alias Parry, from the Godara gang, was shot dead in Chandigarh.
During the investigation, police teams examined footage from nearly 300 CCTV cameras installed in and around the area. The footage showed some suspicious individuals loitering near the temple prior to the incident. One of them was later identified as Rohit Solanki.
A raid was conducted at his house, but he was absconding. Technical analysis revealed that Rohit was using SIM cards issued on fake IDs and remained in contact with his associates through VPN use.
Rohit revealed that he was introduced to Kapil Mann in 2019 by Yovin Solanki. After Yovin was killed by the Tillu Gang in 2020, Rohit remained in contact with Mann and gradually began handling his illegal activities and outside-jail operations.
Mann provided him with Godara’s social media ID for communication. Meanwhile, Godara directed him to coordinate with one of his associates regarding a contract killing of Khatri.
After an initial failed plan in Dehradun due to unclear location details, Rohit identified Khatri at the Marghat Wale Baba temple through social media leads. Rohit had also carried out a detailed recce of the temple one week prior to the incident, the DCP said.
On February 24, Rohit, along with Vikram and two shooters arranged through Godara, carried out the attack.