Nafe Singh Rathee Murder: Jailed Gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Jathedi May Be Involved, Say Police

INLD's Haryana unit president Nafe Singh Rathee was killed when unidentified assailants sprayed the SUV he was travelling in in Bahadurgarh town of Haryana's Jhajjar district, near Delhi, on Sunday.

Apart from Rathee, a party worker was also killed in the attack while three private gunmen hired by Rathee for security suffered injuries.

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'Foreign-Based Gangsters' Involvement Suspected

The possibility of foreign-based gangsters like Himanshu Bhau -- believed to be staying in Portugal and executing murders in India -- playing a role in Rathee's murder has also not been ruled out, a news agency PTI report cited sources.

Teams of Delhi Police's Crime Branch and Special Cell, who are actively working on the interstate gangsters' network, on Monday visited the crime spot in Jhajjar where Rathee and the party worker Jai Kishan were shot dead, officials said.

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At least five teams of the Delhi Police Special Cell and four teams of the Crime Branch visited the spot. The teams of Delhi Police have also exchanged inputs with their counterparts in Haryana, officials said.

'Murder Style Points To Involvement Of Gangsters'

Police said that the way in which Nafe Singh Rathee was murdered points to the involvement of jailed gangsters such as Lawrence Bishnoi and Kala Jathedi.

"It is suspected that gang members of jailed gangsters might have taken the contract to eliminate Rathee for money," the PTI report quoted an officer as saying. The gangs of Bishnoi and Jathedi are thriving on extortions and contract killings in Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Rajasthan, an official said.

Many of the gang members are aged below 18 years and have already been involved in several murders, another Delhi Police officer said.

Delhi Police officials said the way Rathee was executed, points to the involvement of the jailed gangsters.

Rajput Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was also killed similarly as the assailants had fired multiple shots at him, an officer said. The shooters were associated with Rohit Godara, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Godly Brar gang, and used foreign-made Zigana and Beretta pistols, he said.

Similarly, in the murder of Rathee, the attackers used high-tech and sophisticated weapons, he added.

Haryana Police have booked 12 people, including former BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik, in connection with Rathee's killing. The FIR said, the assailants who shot dead Rathee told his nephew, who was driving the vehicle, that they were sparing his life so that he could inform his family.

Haryana Police has suspected that the killing was due to personal enmity and a property dispute. However, The INLD leader's son, Jitendra Rathee, said on Monday that they have never had any rivalry with any gang, adding that "political people" got his father killed.