Coaching centre owner in Delhi shot dead in front of students, family suspects involvement of girlfriend’s brother

The owner of a coaching centre was gunned down by a masked man in front of two students at his workplace in north Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Monday morning, police said.

The family of the dead man, Ankit Kumar, 31, suspects the role of his Muslim girlfriend’s brother, who was allegedly against their relationship and their plans to get married.

Investigators are questioning the brother and other relatives of Ankit’s girlfriend but they have not ruled out the possibility of him having a “relationship with a married woman” or “professional rivalry” behind the murder, Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (north-west), said.

Ankit, who lost his mother a few years ago, lived with his father in Jahangirpuri’s A-Block and was unmarried. Until early this year, Ankit and his older brother Jai together ran a coaching centre. But the two brothers split and Jai moved to another home with his wife in April.

Ankit began running another coaching centre by the name ‘Pinnacle Study Hub’ near his house. Operating out of two little flats in a residential apartment, the coaching centre employed at least three other teachers and had scores of students who studied subjects such as maths, accounts and economics. Ankit himself taught history and political science, said his former student Harshit.

“For the past few months, the coaching centre’s hoardings were being vandalised. There are many coaching centres in the neighbourhood and we are probing if there was any professional rivalry,” said the DCP.

Ankit was in a relationship with a 30-year-old Muslim woman from the same neighbourhood for the last 10 years, said the DCP. A science graduate, the woman worked with a private firm until a year ago before she took to tailoring.

Jai said he and his family had okayed their wedding plans, but the woman’s family, her brother in particular, was against the idea.

Ankit’s childhood friend Vishal said he had advised him to end the relationship but he was determined to go ahead. “Ankit would mention threats from his girlfriend’s brother but he didn’t seem too worried,” said another friend, Aman Singh.

Singh remembered seeing the suspected killer loitering near the coaching centre from 7.30 am on Monday. “He wore a cap, had a black mask (commonly used against pollution) and was wearing a black shirt,” said Singh.

Ankit’s students had arrived earlier than scheduled and collected the keys to the centre from Ankit’s home. “The killer asked the students about Ankit’s timings and sat on the stairs near the centre’s door,” said an investigator.

Ankit had just stepped into the coaching centre around 8.10 am when the masked man shot him in his head and fled. Two of his students witnessed the murder but couldn’t see the killer’s face. Police suspect the killer had an accomplice waiting for him on a motorcycle in a neighbouring lane.

Singh said he initially felt it was a transformer blast. “When I saw Ankit lying on the floor, I thought he was electrocuted,” said Singh.

Ankit’s kin suspect the involvement of his girlfriend’s family. “We picked up the family for questioning. We called the woman’s brother on her phone and he visited us. So far, we haven’t found evidence against them, but we haven’t ruled out any possibility,” said DCP Khan.

Word soon spread about the murder and police had to deploy personnel in the neighbourhood to prevent any untoward incident. A tense calm prevailed through the day even as the house of Ankit’s girlfriend remained locked and policemen guarding it.

First Published: Oct 02, 2018 11:00 IST