On November 30, a dairy owner was gunned down in broad daylight in Aya Nagar, south Delhi. As investigators delved deeper, they uncovered a web of family feud and revenge that had led to the brutal killing, following the murder of another man months earlier.
In Aya Nagar village, two members of the Lohiya family have fallen victim to murders linked by revenge. Ratan Lohiya (52), a dairy owner, was heading to work in the early hours of November 30 when five men in a Nissan Magnite car intercepted him and opened fire. According to police, the attackers fired 72 rounds, with 69 hitting their target. Ratan was wearing a bulletproof jacket, but it failed to protect him. At Safdarjung Hospital, it took doctors two hours to remove the 69 bullets from his body, clothes, and jacket before the post-mortem.
The violence stems from a money dispute between Ratan's son Deepak and Arun Lohiya. During the 2020 Covid lockdown, unemployed Deepak invested about Rs 25 lakh in Arun's real estate business. When Deepak demanded his share back, arguments escalated. In April 2024, a gang of 15 allegedly Arun's men beat up Deepak, leading to an attempt-to-murder case against Arun. A local panchayat asked Arun to apologize, bruising his ego.
On May 15 this year, Arun was shot dead near Chhattarpur Metro station, 7 km from Aya Nagar. He was in a Scorpio car when intercepted by assailants in a Maruti Alto, who fired 10 rounds. Deepak, Yogesh, and Ajay were arrested, with over a dozen others booked for harbouring. Police believe Arun's uncle Kamal (40), from Faridabad's Tigaon with eight criminal cases, plotted the revenge killing of Ratan. Suspects include Anuj Chaudhary from Ghaziabad and Narender alias Neetu from Faridabad, possibly linked to the Randeep Bhati gang. The car used in Ratan's murder has been recovered, but no arrests have been made yet.
Ratan's wife Kamlesh and daughter Deepika live in fear. "Our lives are ruined," Deepika said. Ratan had disowned Deepak after his arrest and even published a newspaper advertisement. The investigation continues, probing possible involvement of US-based gangsters like Neeraj Faridpuria and Himanshu Bhau.