In a shocking incident of violence, two brothers were brutally shot dead in the early hours of Tuesday in a lane near their residence in northeast Delhi's Jafrabad area. The police have identified their cousin, Asad Qureshi, as the prime suspect, alleging his involvement with a criminal gang and a possible motive rooted in suspicion of the victims being police informants.
The Fatal Attack and Police Investigation
According to police sources, the assailant, Asad Qureshi, is believed to be part of a gang. He allegedly suspected his cousins, Faizal (31) and Nadeem (33), of being members of a rival group and also of passing information to the police. This suspicion is thought to have triggered the deadly assault.
Law enforcement agencies are now conducting extensive raids across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand to apprehend Qureshi and his associates who accompanied him during the attack. Police suspect that Qureshi enlisted four to five people for the crime and have identified two of them as Danish and Mehfooz, alias Bobby Kabooter.
Gang Links and a Deadly Suspicion
Investigations reveal that both the deceased brothers and the suspects had alleged connections with incarcerated gangsters Hashim Baba and Saleem Pistol. A crucial turn of events occurred after Saleem Pistol's arrest in August this year. Officers from the Delhi Police's counter-intelligence unit subsequently picked up Nadeem and Bobby Kabootar for questioning.
An officer from the northeast district stated that it was likely at this point that Asad Qureshi began to suspect his cousins were cooperating with the police, potentially planting the seed for the revenge attack. The family of the victims disclosed that one of the brothers had even received a threat from Qureshi on Monday evening, just hours before the tragedy.
Chilling CCTV Footage and Family's Anguish
The sequence of the attack was captured on CCTV cameras. The footage shows approximately five men arriving on two scooters around 1:40 am. One individual, wearing a helmet, is seen dismounting and firing multiple rounds before the group flees the scene.
Police confirmed that it was Qureshi who fired an estimated 30 to 35 rounds at the siblings. Faizal died instantly. His brother, Nadeem, who was 85% disabled and unable to walk, was struck by more than a dozen bullets. Their younger brother, 20-year-old Kafeel, recounted the harrowing moments, "Nadeem was still breathing after the attack, so our eldest brother rushed him to the hospital. Faizal's body, however, lay on the road for more than an hour before police arrived."
In a grim twist, Kafeel revealed that Qureshi had visited their home for dinner just a day before the shooting. "My elder brothers were trying to advise him about something," he said. The deceased are survived by their two siblings and an elderly mother.
Local residents described being jolted awake by the sound of gunfire. Mohammad Bilal (52), a neighbour, said, "We were jolted by multiple gunshots and commotion. By the time we came down, the attackers had left and the brothers were lying in pools of blood."
The police have registered a case under Sections 103 (murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant sections of the Arms Act. The manhunt for the perpetrators continues as the community reels from the brutal killings.
