2 suspects in gym trainer’s murder shot dead in Hry; Lawrence gang says encounter staged, police deny

New Delhi: Two henchmen of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who were alleged suspects in the murder of a local gym trainer in Haryana’s Hansi last month, were killed in an encounter with a joint team of Delhi and Haryana police in Bahadurgarh on Saturday night.On Sunday, a controversy erupted following a social media statement issued by the gang, claiming that the encounter of the two, Pravesh and Himanshu, was “staged” and “fake”.Denying the claim, Delhi Police said the two fired at the men in uniform on being asked to surrender and outlined the subsequent engagement as a “professional, self-defence manoeuvre”.However, the gang wrote in its social media post that the cops abducted the two from Kerala before “staging” the encounter, and threatened retribution, citing its global reach.

It also claimed to have CCTV footage to prove that the suspects were in police custody prior to their shooting, calling this “undeniable evidence of police failure”.The syndicate also said that the gym trainer had a substantial criminal history and that Hansi police used to favour him. According to its narrative, the weapon used in the gym trainer’s murder is in possession of Hansi crime investigation agency.The post concluded with threats of retaliation and a declaration that the gang’s network spans the globe, and that a “heavy price” will have to be paid for the loss of its two men.

Sources said an enquiry by the local SDM is underway to ascertain the facts of the encounter and that National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is likely to seek a report. Anil Shukla, special commissioner of police (Special Cell), will submit a report to Delhi Police chief regarding the encounter that was conducted by a team led by Manishi Chandra, DCP of the counter-intelligence unit, near Bahadurgarh’s Balor.In its statement, Delhi Police said that a joint team comprising members of its Special Cell and Special Task Force (STF) of Haryana Police initiated the operation to nab the suspects after their names cropped up during the interrogation of two other men who were apprehended earlier.Additional commissioner Pramod Kushwaha claimed that “upon being located and identified near Balor, the police team cornered the two and asked them to surrender”. The duo, however, opened fire on the cops, Kushwaha added. It was then that the team of DCP Chandra opened “counterfire”, he said. Both suspects suffered gunshot injuries and died, while a constable, Ankit, had a non-fatal gunshot injury to his leg during the skirmish.The cops link the deceased to the broader Hariram (Harry) Boxer-Anil Pandit syndicate, which operates in a “subsidiary alliance with Lawrence”. A case under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a strict anti-terrorism and anti-mafia law, has been registered against the syndicate, Kushwaha said.