Gurgaon: Multiple gunshots were fired at the Golf Course Road office of a leading fashion designer on the evening of Feb 18 — the latest in a series of extortion threats targeting businessmen, musicians, realtors, and others in the city.Gangster Deepak Nandal claimed responsibility for the firing outside designer Mayank Chawla’s office on social media and issued warnings to others. TOI has learnt that Nandal sought Rs 5 crore from the designer.Three men were arrested on Thursday by the special task force — Devender (41) and Naveen (30), both from Parnala in Jhajjar, and Sandeep (44) from Silana in Sonipat. Police also seized two automatic pistols, seven live cartridges, and a vehicle.Separately, crime branch Sector 40 in-charge inspector Lalit Kumar arrested Ravikant (30) of Patel Nagar on the same day for his involvement in the case.Sources said the shots were fired in the air. Chawla’s staff informed him about the incident. “Mayank lives in Delhi and initially approached Delhi Police. But as the incident happened here, he was asked to contact Gurgaon police, following which he lodged a complaint at DLF Phase 1 police station on Feb 21. A case was registered,” a police officer said.“Following a detailed analysis of CCTV footage and intelligence inputs, the shooter was identified as Devender. During sustained interrogation, the trio disclosed that they planned to target Chawla at Nandal’s behest. A fresh case on organised crime was registered and is being investigated by the STF unit, which shared key inputs related to the Golf Course Road incident with Gurgaon police,” a senior Haryana Police officer said.Chawla could not be reached for a comment. Nandal earlier worked with the Himanshu Bhau gang but is now operating independently, sources said. Police added that Devender was the suspected shooter, and Ravikant accompanied him to the spot. The exact number of shots fired will be ascertained after interrogation.Two of the arrested men have prior criminal records: three theft cases are registered against Devender, while Sandeep faces around nine criminal cases, including charges of murder, attempted murder, and violations under the Arms Act. Police said Sandeep was also convicted in the 2008 Mandothi murder case.The post shared by Nandal also included the names of Rao Inderjeet Yadav, founder of a music company and wanted in multiple murder, attempted murder, and cheating cases in the state. The post also mentioned one Rinku Boss, a sarpanch.Last year, Nandal and Yadav were named in three FIRs in the city alone, for plotting the firing on rapper Fazilpuria’s car on Southern Peripheral Road on July 14, contract killing of property dealer Rohit Shokeen on Aug 4, and the firing at real estate company MNR Buildmark’s office in Sector 45 on Sept 18.
