Four days after alleged Kranti gang leader Rajesh Bharti and three of his associates were killed in an encounter with the Special Cell, police have launched a search for his associates. Police have identified two of his close associates — Sonu Khadkhadi and Jintender alias Jeetu — who were suspected to have been in the car when the gunbattle took place in Chattarpur Saturday. However, they are suspected to have fled. The officer said Bharti had four close associates — Sonu Khadkadi, Jitender Jeetu, Umesh alias Don and Sanjeet Vidrohi. During the encounter, Umesh, Sanjeet, Bharti and Viresh Rana were killed.
“Whenever Bharti travelled, Umesh would accompany him as the driver,” said a police source.
Police said Sonu was involved in the murder of two brothers in an incident of road rage in Dwarka in June last year. “In this case, a team of Dwarka Special Staff had arrested Aman Khadkhadi, but Sonu managed to flee. During questioning, Aman disclosed that he was a member of the Bharti gang, also known as Kranti gang,” said a police officer.
Following Aman’s arrest, Delhi Police first got to know that Bharti had started operating in Delhi. “Jeetu, who hails from Najafgarh, has been involved in about 30 carjacking incidents in the last two years,” said the officer. Meanwhile, the post-mortem was conducted on all the four persons at AIIMS Tuesday.