Bookie killed in Gurugram for refusing to pay protection money

A prominent bookie was shot dead in his car, allegedly by members of the Kaushal gang, on Friday here, police said.

In an audio recording that went viral soon after the murder, gangster Kaushal is heard making a demand of Rs 50 lakh as protection money from the victim.

"The deceased, identified as Vijay Batra alias Tantrik, was found in his car with a fatal gunshot to his head," said Himanshu Garg, DCP Crime and Traffic Gurugram.

"Batra, a resident of the city's upscale Park View residential complex at Gurugram-Sohna road, was on his way to Rajiv Chowk around 8 p.m. to meet someone. We assume Batra was intercepted in the Badshahpur area and shot at point blank range," Garg said.

Batra's family members learnt about the murder around midnight. The glasses of the car were shattered and he was lying in a pool of blood.

Gurugram police has set up five teams, including from the crime branch, for investigating the murder.

Batra's wife alleged her husband was receiving threat calls on WhatsApp from gangster Kaushal for the last 4-5 months. Initially, he demanded Rs 25 lakh as protection money and later increased it to Rs 50 lakh.

In one of the voice calls, which has now gone viral, the caller introduced himself as Kaushal and demanded protection money of Rs 50 lakh. He also threatened if Batra did not pick up his phone, he would face dire consequences. The gangster, who spoke in Haryanvi, asked Batra to either pay up or leave the city.

"Kaushal and his men were demanding protection money for the last 4-5 months. They were threatening to kill my two sons as well as my husband if he did not pay up. They have taken my husband's life over money," said Batra's wife.

"What will I do now. Where would I go with my two children? I demand justice from the police so that no such incident take place in future," she said.

Following the killing, relatives and friends of Batra assembled at the Gurugram police commissioner's office, located on Sohna road. They also blocked the road for some time till senior officials assured them of taking action against the culprits within a week.

Batra's murder is the second such incident in the last two and half months wherein Kaushal and his aides are involved.

In December 2018, Sumer Yadav Nambardar was gunned down by four assailants. He was killed on the directions of Sube Singh, number two member of the Kaushal gang. Sube Singh was said to be eyeing a prime land owned by Nambardar. The land at IMT Maneser is worth Rs 20 crore and when Nambardar refused to give it to Sube Singh, he was killed.

--IANS

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