Gurugram encounter: Unaware of sons' gang-link, claim families of deceased shooters

The families of three suspected shooters, residents of Baloth village in Rohtak district, were shattered on Friday morning (July 10) upon receiving the news of the death of their sons in a police encounter in Gurugram's Sushant Lok Phase-2, claiming they were unaware of their links with any gangster.

While police are yet to confirm the age of the deceased persons, the families of two slain suspects claimed their sons were 17 years old. One was a Class 12 student and a promising javelin thrower, while another was a student of Class 10. The third deceased is said to be 22 years old, and was engaged as a labourer.

The families of the deceased Aryan, Ankit, and Nitin were devastated after they learnt of their sons' deaths. Dropping everything, they rushed to Gurugram, where they learnt that police had shot and killed four persons in an encounter, identifying them as shooters linked to the infamous Deepak Nandal gang.

However, family members have rejected the police's claim.

'Promising javelin thrower'

At the mortuary, Pradeep, father of Aryan, said his son was a promising javelin thrower. He had been training for two years and was throwing distances of 55-60 metres.

"He was a student in Class 12. His bike had broken down two days ago and he had gone to the village bus stand to get it repaired. After that, there was no trace of him. Upon enquiry, I learned that my son had left with Nitin. Aryan did not have a mobile phone, so we attempted to call Nitin, but the phone remained switched off. The village sarpanch was informed by the station house officer on Friday morning about the death of my son in an encounter. My child should have been given a chance because children are easily led astray," Pradeep said.

Also Read: Four Deepak Nandal gang members killed in Gurugram encounter, businessman rescued

Ankit's father Anil Kumar said he works as a contractor at the Amul plant. In the family of seven - Anil, his wife, and four daughters - Ankit was the only son. He had failed eighth grade and occasionally did odd jobs as a daily wage labourer.

"My son Ankit left home two days ago. He had said he was going to Haridwar to fetch the Kanwar. I had no information on who he was going with. My son had no prior criminal record, nor had he ever been involved in any such incident," Anil said.

Criminal record

The father of the third deceased Nitin, who had a previous criminal record, said his son was a Class 10 student. Nitin had set out on a motorcycle with his friend Aryan two days back, and his phone had been switched off ever since. When the family went to the police station to file a missing person report, the police displayed insensitivity. This morning, the village sarpanch informed them about the death of Nitin in an encounter in Gurugram.

"My son Nitin had been previously implicated in a police case. My son did not know gangster Deepak Nandal," said Nitin's father Sanjay Kumar.

Also Read: LeT terrorist killed in Shopian encounter after five-day anti-terror operation

ACP crime Naveen Sharma said the slain shooter Deepa alias Sandeep had 14 cases registered against him for serious offences, including violations of the Arms Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

He was originally a resident of Samain village in Fatehabad district. He had four brothers; one of them had died in an accident some time ago, while the rest of the family lives in the village, while Deepa had been residing in the Faridabad-Gurugram area for quite some time.

(With agency inputs)