2 held in firing at lawyer linked to Lawrence Bishnoi; victim was tracked through social media

New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a key conspirator and one of the shooters in connection with the firing at advocate Deepak Khatri, who is associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, near ISBT in north Delhi last week, an officer said on Tuesday.

One of the two was Rohit Solanki, 26, a resident of Pooth Kalan and an alleged member of the Rohit Godara gang. He was nabbed by the North district police after an extensive manhunt involving analysis of footage from over 300 CCTV cameras across 20 locations.

In a parallel operation, the Crime Branch arrested 22-year-old Sagar Malik, also a resident of Pooth Kalan, who allegedly provided logistical support, including the scooter used in the crime and fake SIM cards to the shooters, the officer said.

A foreign-made Glock pistol and three live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

Khatri, a 45-year-old Paschim Vihar resident, was shot at on February 24 when he and his associates were returning from the Marghat Wale Hanuman Temple in Kashmere Gate.

Around 10.05 pm, as their car reached near a rain basera on Ring Road, assailants on a two-wheeler opened fire, injuring his aide Sandeep, who sustained two bullet wounds.

In the wake of the attack, an FIR was registered at Kashmere Gate Police Station under sections 109(1) (attempt to murder) and 3(5) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act.

According to the police, Khatri became a target for gangster Rohit Godara and his ally Goldy Brar amid escalating rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang following the killing of Sukhdeep alias Sippa in Dubai in November 2025 and the murder of Inderpreet alias Parry, a Godara gang member, in Chandigarh in December 2025.

Investigators said a conspiracy to eliminate Khatri was hatched by Godara and Solanki, who allegedly conducted a reconnaissance of the advocate's movements.

Khatri was tracked through his social media posts, from which Solanki learnt about his regular Tuesday visits to the temple.

On the day of the incident, Solanki, along with two shooters allegedly arranged by Godara, identified the target and executed the attack before fleeing, the police said.

During interrogation, Solanki allegedly disclosed that the attackers abandoned the scooter and a Glock pistol near Rajghat while escaping.

The weapon later surfaced in a separate case in Patparganj Industrial Area after a truck driver who had picked it up accidentally fired a shot, injuring a co-worker. The scooter was subsequently seized.

The police said Sagar Malik's scooter, registered in his mother's name, was used in the crime. Malik allegedly arranged a SIM card under a fake identity and handed it over to Solanki. He also disclosed that some active and passive associates were present at the spot to manage the operation.

After the attack, Solanki fled to Jaipur and boarded a flight to Bangkok, reportedly planning to escape to Dubai. He was deported from Thailand and later arrested in a village in outer Delhi.

Malik, who was apprehended from Rohini, had a previous involvement in an attempt to murder case of 2024, police said.

Efforts are underway to trace the remaining shooters, the police said. PTI SSJ SSH SSJ VN VN