NEW DELHI: In the first week of May, 37-year-old Gaurav Khera lost a huge sum betting on a cricket match. He went for help to his father, Anil Khera, but was snubbed and slapped. On May 21, Anil, a chemical factory owner in northwest Delhi’s Model Town, was gunned down by bike-borne criminals in Sahibabad industrial area in Uttar Pradesh where he had gone for a business meeting.



Five months on, Delhi Police’s Crime Branch cracked the mystery and arrested Gaurav and his friend, Vishal Garg (23), along with one Sadiq, one of the two shooters.

Additional commissioner (crime) Ajit K Singla said that Gaurav had given his father’s supari to two contract killers, Shamsher and Sadiq, in lieu of Rs 5 lakh. He had allegedly come in contact with them through Vishal, who was promised a 25% share in Anil’s business, which Gaurav would have inherited once his father was killed. Police are on the lookout for Shamsher.

The breakthrough came in the aftermath of infighting between the shooters. “The quartet had made a WhatsApp group for coordination. Gaurav updated them about his father’s movements and the shooters made three failed bids. After committing the crime, Shamsher sent a WhatsApp message to Gaurav saying “job done” after which the group was dismantled,” explained an officer.

After four days, Vishal and Gaurav paid the contract money of Rs 5 lakh to Shamsher. However, Shamsher gave only Rs 50,000 to Sadiq. Sadiq knew that Gaurav was the victim’s only son and was now the owner of Anil’s chemical business. He began to threaten Vishal and Gaurav demanding more money.

This bickering led to a breach in their unholy bond and a team led by inspector Mukesh Antil apprehended them when they had come to negotiate with Gaurav at a hotel in Panchwati area of Azadpur in north Delhi. The hotel, Krishna Residency, was being run on lease by Vishal.

During interrogation, Gaurav told police that he quit studies in the second year of college and got married. He has a five-year-old son. He assisted his father in running their business, but remained disgruntled due to lack of enough money. He began to hate his father for reprimanding him for not making it big and wasting his life on gambling and prostitutes.

Earlier this year, Gaurav met Shamsher and Vishal at a nightclub and became friends. During a house party in April, he sought their help in getting rid of his father.

On May 20, he overheard his father saying that he would be traveling to Sahibabad for a meeting the next day. He alerted the shooters and his friend. Shamsher and Sadiq followed Anil to Sahibabad. When he came out of the meeting around 5pm, Shamsher fired multiple shots at him from a close range and the two fled towards Delhi.

A part of the shooting was caught on CCTV, but the accused managed to remain at large. UP Police never suspected Gaurav’s role as he pretended to be distraught whenever they tried to speak to him.