Builder among five held in Paharganj extortion-firing case, main shooter nabbed after encounter

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Delhi Police has arrested five people, including a local builder and hotelier, for allegedly conspiring with an interstate gang to extort Rs 30 lakh from a Paharganj-based builder and opening fire at him after he refused to pay, an officer said on Tuesday. The prime accused, identified as Pawan Kumar alias Pawan Pehelwan, was arrested after an exchange of fire near the Kabristan area in IP Estate, he said. According to the officer, the accused allegedly fired at the police team while attempting to flee. Police retaliated in self-defence, injuring him in both legs before overpowering and arresting him. He was admitted to a hospital for treatment. The others arrested were Shakti Singh, Vishal Bhati, Pawan Kumar alias Pawan Chetli and Rajesh Sachdeva alias Sonu Mota. A senior police officer said, "The firing incident took place on June 29 when an armed man entered the office of private builder Mahesh Chand at Arya Nagar in Paharganj, and allegedly demanded an amount of Rs 30 lakh, including Rs 5 lakh immediately." When the builder refused, the assailant opened fire with the intention of killing him before escaping, he said. A case was registered at the Nabi Karim police station, following which multiple police teams were formed to investigate the incident. During the investigation, police analysed CCTV footage, call detail records, hotel records, electronic evidence and human intelligence to trace the accused. "The first breakthrough came with the arrest of Vishal Bhati alias Bhanja, whose interrogation helped investigators identify the remaining conspirators and unravel a planned interstate extortion conspiracy," the officer said. Further investigation revealed that local builder and hotelier Pawan Chetli, along with his associate Rajesh Sachdeva, had allegedly arranged accommodation and meeting venues for the gang and provided them information about the complainant and his family. Police alleged that while Pawan Pehelwan wanted to establish himself as a feared extortionist among builders and businessmen in Paharganj, Pawan Chetli sought to settle business rivalries and strengthen his influence in the local builder community. Police also found that another key conspirator, Shakti Singh, had fled to Kolkata immediately after the incident. He was tracked down and arrested after police obtained a transit remand from a court there. According to investigators, the conspirators held several meetings at hotels in Paharganj before executing the crime and had conducted reconnaissance of the complainant's office. They said that Pawan Pehelwan had posted videos on social media displaying firearms, taking responsibility for the firing incident and threatening the complainant while openly challenging law enforcement agencies. Police said verification of criminal records revealed that Shakti Singh is a historysheeter from Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh with involvement in 13 criminal cases, while Pawan Chetli and Rajesh Sachdeva also have previous criminal cases registered against them. "Police recovered a pistol, two live cartridges, three empty cartridge cases and a stolen motorcycle from the possession of Pawan Pehelwan. The motorcycle was found to be linked to an earlier theft case," the officer said. Further investigation is underway to recover the original weapon used in the firing, identify other conspirators, analyse the financial trail and establish the complete chain of the conspiracy, police said. PTI BM BM RUK RUK