Gunmen kill 2 women over monetary row with bro

New Delhi: Gunmen allegedly shot dead two women in southwest Delhi's RK Puram in the early hours of Sunday over a suspected financial dispute with their brother, police said. Three accused have been arrested in connection with the shooting incident at RK Puram's Ambedkar Basti, they said. In grainy footage from a purported video shot by local residents, gunshots can be heard amid a barrage of abuse. The video also purports to show the gunmen firing their weapons before escaping while one woman is seen lying on the ground as the locals scream in panic.

Sharing details about the incident, the police said they received a call around 4.40 am from the victims' brother Lalit about his sisters being shot at.

"Acting on the information, a police team reached the spot where it was found that two women were shot at and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital, where they succumbed," said a senior police officer.

The victims have been identified as Pinky (30) and Jyoti (29). Preliminary investigations revealed that the assailants were after the victims' brother Lalit and the motive seems to have been a monetary dispute, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Manoj C said.

'The prime accused and his two associates were arrested in connection with the incident," he added. They have been identified as Arun, Michael and Dev, the police said. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway. Lal, another brother of the victims, said, "My elder brother Lalit had given money to someone as a loan. On Saturday, when my brother asked them to return the money, a heated argument took place with the accused and a few others." Around 2 am on Sunday, when they were asleep, some people allegedly started shouting and knocking on the door of their residence, Lal said.

Fearing a mishap, Lal said he called their relatives, including his two sisters who lived in the same lane. But the people had left by then. "Later, they returned with pistols. They had come to target my brother. Instead, my two sisters who rushed to rescue him were shot at by the accused… My sisters fell unconscious and the men escaped," he added.

Attacking Lt Governor VK Saxena over the incident, Kejriwal said, "Our thoughts are with the families of the two women. May their souls rest in peace. The people of Delhi have started feeling quite insecure. Those who are responsible for handling the law-and-order situation in Delhi are hatching a conspiracy to take control of the Delhi government instead of fixing the situation," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. "Had the law-and-order situation been under the AAP dispensation instead of the L-G, Delhi would have been the safest," he added in a tweet in Hindi. Other AAP leaders also echoed Kejriwal's sentiment.