In a major breakthrough, cops have recovered the Skoda car used by three assailants who were involved in the murder of businessman and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Deepak Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj was shot dead at his "Nitesh Kunj" farmhouse in Rajokri on Tuesday by unidentified men who came in a Skoda car. Cops have now recovered the car from Jind area in Haryana, 150km away from Delhi. According to a report from The Times Of India, cops were looking out for a particular licence plate number and recovered the car with the help of Haryana police.
According to a source, the three assailants belonged to the Khera village in Pooth Khurd area of northwest Delhi which is near Haryana border. Cops suspect that a massive land deal with a rival builder could be the motive behind the murder.
Earlier on Tuesday, cops released CCTV footage which showed three unknown men brandishing their pistols at the security guards after the shooting and leaving the farmhouse in the car. They had suspected the hand of contract killers in Bhardwaj's murder. They presumed that the assailants might have been familiar with the layout of the farmhouse, as they had good knowledge where to find Bhardwaj inside the house. Bhardwaj's farmhouse was just 3km away from the Gurgaon toll plaza, which could have helped the killers to easily get away after the murder.
Even as cops are probing business rivalry in connection with the murder, they are also not ruling out the involvement of a family member.
According to reports, Bhardwaj also faced family problems. An argument in his family led his wife and son Nitesh to live away from him in Nav Sansad Apartments, Dwarka Sector 22. While Bhardwaj reportedly visited them regularly, he hardly spoke to his other son Hitesh. Bhardwaj had issues with Hitesh after he named the "Nitesh Kunj" property after his younger son, a leading daily reported.
According to sources, Bhardwaj had a dispute with one of his sons over the property, following which a police complaint was filed at the Vasant Kunj-South police station. Police are yet to confirm it. They are likely to question Bhardwaj's family members soon.
The 62-year-old Bhardwaj made headlines in 2009 as the richest candidate from the West Delhi constituency to contest in the Lok Sabha polls. While filing his nomination papers, he had declared his assets to be worth around ₹600 crore. The businessman-cum-politician was engaged in construction, education and hotel related businesses.
