Two informers shot in E Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a brutal incident, two men reportedly working as "informers" for special cell and other important specialized units of Delhi Police were slashed with sharp-edged weapons and shot at point blank range in northeast Delhi's Welcome area. The deceased have been identified as Shahbaz (30) and Babu Khan (19).
According to sources, Shahnawaz, a notorious criminal, rounded them up around 12 in the night on Saturday.The accused was angry with Shahbaz because he had recently deposed against him in a robbery case. Shahnawaz, a known criminal in Trans Yamuna area, has at least 10 cases of robbery and attempt to murder registered against him in Zaffrabad. He is currently absconding.
Shahbaz in 2009 gave an input to the police about Shahnawaz that led to the robber's arrest. Shahbaz and Babu Khan were also reportedly involved in some criminal activities, said sources. "Apart from Shahnawaz, they used to provide us information on criminals in east and northeast Delhi. Earlier, they worked with Shahnawaz but they parted ways after some disagreement. In fact, Shahbaz was Shahnawaz's distant relative," said a senior police officer. "To catch big criminals, we have to take help of small-time goons sometimes."
Based on Shahbaz's testimony, Shahnawaz was summoned to court on March 15. When Shahnawaz came to know that one of the prosecution witness was his old rival, he decided to eliminate him and started following his movements, said the officer. He added that Shahnawaz and his associates used a sharp-edged knife and a .315 bore pistol to attack Shahbaz and Babu.
The deceased were discovered around 12.50am lying in street number 1 in Kavi Nagar. The two were rushed to hospital where they were declared brought dead. "We have sent the bodies to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for postmortem and have registered a case. There was no robbery and it appears to be a case of personal enmity," said DCP (northeast) Sanjay K Jain.
According to Shahbaz's family, he was "lured" by his elder sister Tahira (40) straight to his death. "She came to Shahbaz's house around 11.30pm and stayed for some time. When she was readying to leaving, she requested him to drop her to her Seelampur residence. Shahbaz and Babu left, never to return. Tahira's son-in-law, Shahid Pahari, is a close friend of Shahnawaz. Shahbaz and Babu were murdered by the connivance of all of them," alleged Shahbaz's father-in-law Ishrat Ali. Police was also looking for Shahnawaz's associate Arshad in connection with the incident.
Shahbaz's family claimed that when he refused to work for Shahnawaz earlier, the accused had turned violent and barged into his house in late 2009. He reportedly tied up his family members before beating up Shahbaz. "My brother suffered a gunshot injury on his shoulder. He gave testimony against Shahnawaz and was again supposed to depose on March 15. Shahnawaz told Shahbaz to take his testimony back but he refused," said Shahid, Shahbaz's cousin.
Shahbaz worked as a property dealer in Jaffrabad. He is survived by his wife Shaheen and two daughters - Muskaan (6) and Meher (3).