New Delhi: In an Instagram post under the handle ‘@kapilnandu4i5w’, UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan has claimed responsibility for the murder of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and former MLA Nafe Singh Rathee.
This comes after the police questioned Sangwan’s brother Jyoti Baba in jail in connection with the murder.
“I ordered the killing of Nafe Singh Rathee. The reason behind this is the friendship between him and my rival Manjeet Mahal,” the Instagram post says. “Whoever joins hands with my enemies will meet the same fate. I will support the enemies of my enemies and 50 bullets will await them. Nafe Singh Rathee killed many using his power and grabbed land, the entire Bahadurgarh knows about it.”
ThePrint has not independently verified the account as belonging to Sangwan.
Rathee, 66, was killed Sunday while he was returning home from a nearby village. His vehicle was trailed and followed. Upon reaching a railway crossing, unidentified gunmen came out and opened fire on the Toyota Fortuner. Rathee and his close associate Jai Kishan were killed in the firing. Nineteen bullet shells were found at the spot of the incident.
An FIR has been lodged against 15 people, including former BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik and other political rivals of Rathee, like husband and relatives of Bahadurgarh Municipal Corporation chief Saroj Rathee.
In the post on Instagram, Sangwan has claimed that Rathee worked with Mahal’s brother-in-law Sanjay to grab properties of people.
“If the police had been this active when my brother-in-law and friends were killed, I wouldn’t have had to do this,” the post said.
Sangwan is from Najafgarh and runs the Nandu gang. The Manjeet Mahal gang and Nandu gang have been arch rivals for years, killing each other’s associates and alleged sympathisers.
Mahal, also a native of Najafgarh, is currently in jail. He was arrested in 2016 and is allegedly involved in the killing of former INLD MLA Bharat Singh, brother of Delhi gangster Krishan Pehalwan.
The unidentified gunmen who opened fire at Rathee are yet to be arrested. Arpit Jain, Jhajjar Superintendent of Police (SP), said, “We are investigating all angles and claims made. The motive will be clear once the shooters are arrested”.
Meanwhile, Sangwan, in another post, put up a photo of Rathee and Manjeet Mahal and wrote — “Those of you who claimed that this leader is innocent, comment on this photo”.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: ’19 bullet shells’ found where INLD’s Haryana chief was murdered, former BJP MLA among 12 booked