Newly appointed Gurugram Police Commissioner Mohammad Akil took charge on Monday amid protests over rising fear of gangster Kaushal in the city.
Akil, who replaces KK Rao, arrived at his office amid protests and a candlelight vigil by over 500 people. They were demanding arrest of the gangster involved in the Friday killing of bookie Vijay Batra.
Batra was shot dead by Kaushal gang members on Sohna Road for allegedly refusing to pay protection money of Rs 50 lakh.
Batra's was the second gang killing this year after property dealer Jaydev was gunned down in Shivaji Nagar in January. Sumer Yadav Nambardar was shot dead in Manesar in December.
The Gurugram Police hasn't made any arrests in these cases.
Sources say with 10 killings over the past three years, the gang's hit rate has significantly increased after Sandeep Gadoli was killed by a Crime Branch team at a Mumbai hotel and the Gadoli gang members joined Kaushal.
The Kaushal gang has shot dead gangsters Mahesh Attack and Manish Gujjar in targetted killings and Manish's brother gangster Bindar Gujjar, blamed for the murder of Gadoli, could be its possible target.
"Law and order has collapsed in Gurugram. Gangster Kaushal is running a parallel government of fear here. His men were involved in the murder of my son Jaydev alias JD outside my residence in Shivaji Nagar on January 22," said Sanjiv Singh, who participated in the protest with his family and relatives.
"We are living in fear due to killings at regular intervals. In last two months, the Kaushal gang has been involved in three murders. They are running an extortion racket in the city, right under the nose of the police and they are just silent spectators. His men are eliminating those who don't pay," said Ritu, wife of Vijay Batra.
Gurugram police PRO Subhash Bokan said, "Five teams have been constituted to nab the accused responsible for Batra's murder. We have some clues. Police teams have raided several places in Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. They will be behind bars soon."
--IANS
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