In an attempt to loot cash from an MCD toll office run by a concessionaire, four youths in their early twenties shot dead two officials working as cashier and gunman in the office in south east Delhi’s Badarpur on Sunday morning.
The accused allegedly fled the spot after snatching a bag from one of the victim’s hands. The police, however, denied that any cash had been robbed from the office.
The victims are identified as Manmohan, 60, and Mahipal, 40, who were working as cashier and gunman in the company, respectively.
“The MCD had outsourced the work to Deep Toll Private Limited. Every day the toll money was being taken from the toll plaza to the office where the incident happened. The assailants perhaps wanted to loot that money,” said a security official in the Badarpur toll plaza.
A case of murder has been registered in Badarpur police station, and several police teams are searching for the accused in different parts of the city.
“The incident happened around 7 am in the morning when the two employees were having tea in their office cum residence,” said a senior police officer. “The four assailants barged into the building and killed the two with a pistol. They then fled from the spot. The victims were taken to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead,” the officer added.
The police suspect that the two young men living in front of the office and their accomplices are behind the murders.
The duo identified as Deepak and Vishal had rented two rooms in a house in front of the toll office four months ago. According to the neighbours, they were preparing for the written exam of recruitment in the Delhi Police.
“I have seen the duo standing here several times, mostly with his two other friends. They used to tell us that they are students and preparing for the written examination of the Delhi Police recruitment test, for which they are taking classes in Paramount Coaching Institute,’’ said a neighbour, who refused to be identified.
Paramount Institute’s officials, however, denied that the duo was officially part of any of their coaching classes.
They accepted that one of the accused did attend their opening class on February 23, which, according to him, anyone could attend without enrolling their names in the institute.
“I suspect that it was all planned. They spread in the locality that they were taking coaching classes in Paramount Institute, whereas, here they never officially joined the classes. I saw one of the two accused taking the first class, which was open to everyone without even enrolling themselves,’’ said an official of Paramount Institute in Badarpur.