NEW DELHI: The Lawrence Bishnoi gang allegedly claimed responsibility for the daylight murder of a 35-year-old businessman in northwest Delhi’s Bawana. Accusing the trader of “interfering in their work”, the gang warned against any hurdles in its operations, saying it would now shoot the guilty without intimation.The authenticity of the claim, posted on social media, is being verified. The account used to post the claim is new and not the usual one used by the gang, sources said.Lawrence and other gangs usually fire at a target’s car and house to scare them into paying money. The brazen killing, if for extortion, would be new for the city.While police are probing the involvement of the Lawrence gang, a robbery gone wrong is also a strong line of probe. Sources said the shooters might have been tipped off about a cash movement in the businessman’s car and targeted him. The shooters allegedly asked for Rs 1-1.5 crore at the spot and even peeked into the targ-et’s car, in which some cash was allegedly kept.The victim, identified as Vaibhav Gandhi, was a plastic granules manufacturer who was chased and shot on Monday afternoon near his factory in Sector 4 in the industrial area. The cops suspect the involvement of some Haryana-based shooters based on their movement after the crime. Other angles being explored are the possibility of a business rivalry or a misunderstanding where the Lawrence gang mistakenly identified the victim as a hawala trader who had a dispute with it over a payment of Rs 1-1.5 crore in a case involving another businessman, an investigator said.The latest claim surfaced via a social media post authored by an account under the name ‘Randeep Malik Anil Pandit’. In the post, which features a picture of Lawrence wearing a hoodie, the perpetrators stated that they had carried out the killing on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi, Jitender Gogi Maan, Hasim Baba and Kala Rana groups.The message, written in a mix of Hindi and English, alleged that Gandhi was “interfering” in their operations. “He was entering the middle of our call, so we exited him from his life,” the post read, adding a warning that anyone else who attempts to obstruct their “work” will be eliminated without prior notice or call.The murder occurred around 12.51pm on Monday when Gandhi was inside his car outside the factory. According to preliminary police investigations, four assailants on bikes approached him and one of them started firing from a pistol.When Gandhi tried to flee, the gunmen chased him for nearly 50 metres, firing multiple rounds. A fatal shot to the chin caused him to collapse, after which the attackers fled with his belongings, including a laptop bag.
