West Delhi Burger King murder: Shooters among 3 killed in police encounter in Haryana
New Delhi (PTI): Three gangsters, including two shooters allegedly behind the west Delhi food joint murder last month, were shot dead on Friday in a joint operation by the Haryana Police and the Delhi Crime Branch in Sonipat, officials said.
They said Sub-Inspector Amit of the Crime Branch was injured in the operation. The Delhi Police Crime Branch team was led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Umesh Bharatwal under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Amit Goel.
DCP West, Sonipat, Narinder Singh told PTI that a Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF) member also suffered injuries. Another police official from Sonipat said the encounter took place on Chhinoli Road in Kharkhoda.
Police identified the gangsters gunned down in the operation as Ashish alias Lalu, Sunny Kharar and Vicky Ridhana, and said all three were members of the Himanshu Bhau gang.
They said Ashish and Ridhana were the ones who shot 26-year-old Aman Joon dead at a Rajouri Garden Burger King outlet on June 18.
Joon, a native of Haryana, was attacked when he was seated with a woman at the eatery. The woman, who allegedly had 'honey trapped' him, is at large.
An associate of the two shooters, Bijender was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in Rohini on June 28. He had taken Ashish and Ridhana to the outlet on his motorcycle.
Kharar, along with Ashish and Ridhana, was allegedly involved in a shooting outside a vehicle showroom in Hisar days after Joon's murder.
A senior Delhi Police officer said the Crime Branch and the Haryana Police STF were tipped off about the trio hiding in Kharkhoda village.
When a joint team reached the spot, the gangsters opened fire at the police personnel, injuring the sub-inspector, he said, adding that SI Amit sustained a bullet wound in his thigh.
As the police team retaliated, a gunfight ensued and the three gangsters suffered critical injuries, the officer said, adding that they were declared dead later at a city hospital.
He said the Himanshu Bhau gang has been extorting lakhs of rupees from businessmen in Haryana and Delhi. The joint force seized five pistols from the encounter site, the officer added.
The killing at the Burger King outlet in Rajouri Garden was seen as part of an ongoing gang war between jailed gangsters Neeraj Bawana and Ashok Pradhan.
Fugitive Spain-based gangster Himanshu Bhau, a close aide of Bawana, took responsibility for the murder in a social media post and said his gang had avenged the killing of Bawana's cousin Shakti Singh in October 2020.
Joon is believed to have passed on information regarding Shakti Singh's whereabouts to Pradhan, police had said.
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MP minister's veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi sparks major row; he apologises, Cong seeks ouster
Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."
Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.
"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".
The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.
Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.
"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.
He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.
"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?
The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.
Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.
According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.
He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.
"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.
"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.
'हमारी सेना की जांबाज बेटियां आतंकवादियों की बहन हैं'
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2025
- ये घटिया बात मध्य प्रदेश में BJP सरकार के मंत्री विजय शाह ने कही है।
भारत की जिन बेटियों पर सबको नाज है, उन बेटियों को लेकर ये शर्मनाक बयान दिया गया है। उन्हें आतंकवादियों की बहन बताया गया है।
ये हमारी पराक्रमी सेना का… pic.twitter.com/y591M3ky8G
