The 16-year-old boy, Mukul Thakran, who was shot dead by masked men in Burari firing on Monday, was preparing to be a national-level sportsperson in wrestling, his family said.
Mukul’s paternal uncle Jasbeer told The Hindu that the boy had come to meet his former coach on Monday morning.
“He had no criminal record. He was studying in Class XII and wanted to become a wrestler,” Mr. Jasbeer said. Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) M.M. Oberoi confirmed about Mukul’s clean record.
It was Mukul’s off during the weekend and his paternal uncle Pawan had called him over to teach him a few wrestling moves, Mr. Jasbeer said.
“For the past four months, he was taking professional wrestling training in a sports school in Sonipat’s Rai area. His home was in Nangal Thakran. He was studying at a public school there,” his uncle said.
Talking about the possible reason of the murder, Mr. Jasbeer said that Mukul’s uncle Raju alias Deepak was murdered by gangster Jitender Gogi and his associates in 2015 in Azadpur.
Raju’s brother and Mukul’s maternal uncle Pawan were pursuing the murder case.
“The SUV which Mukul had used to come to the gym belonged to Pawan. We think they wanted to eliminate Pawan and thought he would have accompanied Mukul,” the uncle said. “Pawan had asked Mukul not to take the car but he still did,” he added.
Survived by sister
Mukul is survived by his 18-year-old sister who lives in Nangal Thakran with his grandmother. Both his parents had expired about eight years ago, the family said.