NEW DELHI: In a brazen strike inside a courtroom in the Rohini district court complex on Friday afternoon, gangster Jitender Gogi was gunned down by two shooters alleged hired by his rival. The two assailants, dressed as lawyers, were killed on the spot in a calibrated response by men of Delhi Police’s special cell, who were accompanying Gogi.
There was panic and chaos at the complex although timely action by the cops averted more casualties. People scrambled for cover and ran out of the courtroom as gunshots were exchanged between the cops and the criminals. A total of 12-15 bullets were fired from both sides.
Gogi had been on the top of the police’s most wanted list till his dramatic arrest last year in April. According to police, his arch-rival, Sunil Tajpuria alias Tillu, had orchestrated the hit, with assistance from another gangster, Naveen Bali. The plot was hatched in Mandoli jail where Tajpuria is lodged at present, sources said.

The two shooters were identified as Rahul Fafunda, a contract killer with a reward of Rs 50,000 on him, and Jagdeep Jagga.
The incident took place around 1.15pm, just when additional sessions judge Gagandeep Singh arrived to begin hearing in room number 207. The two shooters had come to the court around 12pm in full “advocate attire”, complete with black collar bands, blazers and shoes. They were seated in the courtroom.
Gogi arrived with a heavy escort team. As he had been categorised as a very-high-risk undertrial, two teams from the special cell were present in the room besides cops from Delhi Armed Police, which escorts inmates to courts from jail. The cops were on an escalated alert because a henchman of the Tillu gang, Sunil, was also to be brought there for the hearing.

As soon as Gogi entered the courtroom, the two shooters stood up, whipped out 7.65mm pistols and fired at Gogi. The cops reacted almost immediately and shot back, with the shooters falling on the floor along with Gogi. The shooting lasted for less than 30 seconds, an eyewitness said.
It was to the police’s advantage that Gogi was accompanied by the special cell sleuths as part of the new security apparatus for high-risk inmates which involves men from the arresting unit to be present when they are being produced in court. This was put in place after the GTB Hospital shootout, officials said.
Police have launched a manhunt for the others involved in the plot. The investigation of the case has been transferred to the crime branch. Tillu will be taken on remand for questioning along with other associates.
“Delhi Police reacted swiftly and shot dead the assailants,” said police commissioner Rakesh Asthana. “No one was injured during the incident. The police took clean and correct action while bringing down the assailants. We will now investigate the issue of a security lapse,” he added.
Initial investigations indicate that Tajpuria had planned the hit by borrowing henchmen from other gangsters he had aligned with in the past. “Naveen Bali is suspected to have lent at least one of the shooters to Tajpuria’s gang. Another gangster, Sunil Rathi, is also under the scanner for helping Tajpuria,” said a source. Shooter Fafunda was involved in a recent murder in the Kanjhawala area.
The Delhi Police brass has initiated a high-level inquiry under a joint commissioner rank officer and is conducting a review of the court security.
“All three were declared brought dead to the hospital. A criminal case has been registered and investigations have been taken up as per guidelines of the court and NHRC. The judicial authorities of the Rohini courts have been briefed about the incident and action has been taken,” said DCP (Rohini) Pranav Tayal.
The police said they have been coordinating regularly with the Rohini court administration and other stakeholders for ensuring security at the premises and several meetings were held recently.