It was a busy afternoon at Jammu’s popular Jewel Chowk on January 21 when a loud sound broke the cacophony of the market teeming with shops, eateries and cafes. A man, presumably in his early thirties, had been shot at by two people with semi-automatic pistols. The accused then robbed a passer-by of his scooter and fled.Police were informed and soon — Nowabad police station is only 100-150 metres away — personnel arrived at the spot. It didn’t take the police long to recognise the victim. This was Sumit Jandayal alias Gataru of the Gataru gang. An alleged gangster, he was arrested last year under the PSA and had only been released a few months ago. He succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead at the hospital.Now the question: Who killed Sumit? Did the killers have a personal enmity with him or was this a hit job commissioned by someone else?Soon, at least the second question was answered. In a social media post, the ‘Khauff (fear)’ gang claimed responsibility for the murder. As the police began its probe, it turned out to be a case of the aftermath of a friendship gone sour, the desire to establish one-upmanship, and revenge for a crime committed years ago.A man called GataruSources said that Sumit was given the nickname ‘Gataru’ by his Dogra parents as he was a “very energetic” child. The name stuck around and was an obvious choice for the gang that he would go on to set up later in life. Sumit was given the nickname ‘Gataru’ by his Dogra parentsAccording to local residents, Sumit used to run a satta (bookie) business with his friend Vikas Slathia. However, six years later, they parted ways over certain differences and set up their own separate businesses, and eventually, separate gangs. While Sumit made the Gataru gang, Slathia came up with the Khauff gang – the same gang that would go on to claim responsibility for the murder of his former friend.Both the gangs, by and large, operate in Jammu and Samba districts.Story continues below this adSources said that the fact that Gataru had set up his separate bookie business had not gone down well with Vikas, who derives his last name from his native Gurha Slathia village in Samba district.Also known as Vicky, Vikas started out as a bookie but soon graduated to more heinous crimes like purportedly severing a limb of one his victims and bragging about it on social media.Jammu district’s police chief, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Joginder Singh said it looked like the main conspirator had “hatched the crime from outside India”.A police officer, who is part of the investigation, identified this main conspirator as Vikas. He, however, refused to name the country Vikas is hiding in as it would “hamper the investigation” in the matter.The jail stintStory continues below this adSumit, along with his brother Sourav, was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on the orders of Samba District Magistrate in May 2024 for their alleged involvement in “organised criminal activities, posing a threat to public peace and order”. Before this, Samba SSP had prepared a dossier against him, pointing to alleged involvement in cases ranging from attempt to murder and robbery to breach of peace, extortion, cheating and land-grabbing in Samba and Jammu districts.However, a few months later, Sumit stepped out of Kathua jail after Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court quashed his detention under PSA, according to his relatives.According to locals in Vijaypur town, he ran a private financing business and also dealt in sale and purchase of property. He had shifted to Jammu only a few months ago, they said.The rivalryAccording to a police officer, Vikas and Sumit were fierce competitors in the “satta business”.Story continues below this adIt is this rivalry that had led to the murder of a Gataru gang member — Akshay Kumar — allegedly by members of the Khauff gang in Ramgarh, Samba district, in November 2023, said police, adding the crime was led by Vikas. Four months later, a police team from Samba district, on the lookout for Akshay’s killers, killed a “notorious criminal” Vasudev alias Shunnu during an encounter on the premises of the Government Medical College in Kathua on April 4, 2024.Deepak Sharma, a probationary sub-inspector, was also killed in the cross-fire, sources said.Shunnu was part of the Khauff gang. Police said Vikas blamed Sumit for the murder, suspecting him to be the one who tipped off the officers on his whereabouts. So, a revenge plan was set in motion to get rid of Sumit, said police. Jewel Chowk in Jammu where Gataru was murderedPolice encounter a trigger?Story continues below this adShunnu was on the run as he was wanted by the police in connection with the killing of Rajesh Dogra alias Mohan Cheer, another gangster (not connected with either Gataru or Khauff gang) during a shootout outside a mall on the busy Airport Road in Sector 67 of Punjab’s Mohali on March 4, 2024. Dogra was relentlessly fired upon, at least 19 times, immediately after he stepped out of an SUV by assailants already waiting in two cars.Dogra, who hailed from J&K’s Reasi district, was the prime suspect in the murder of another gangster, Sanjay Kumar alias Bakra, at a private clinic in posh Trikuta Nagar area of Jammu city. This case dated back to November 2006.Bakra, who used to run a finance company, was killed as Dogra suspected his gang to be behind the murder of another gangster, Sikander Arora alias Billoo, inside the Jammu District Jail at Ambphalla in 1997, said police.With each fresh information, the case got deeper and murkier by the day. But at least, there was now a motive. Nabbing the killers, though, was another matter altogether.Search for the killersStory continues below this adPolice said that on the day of the murder, the accused had parked their car a short distance from the scene of crime. They used the scooter they had robbed from a passer-by to reach the car – a second-hand Alto they had purchased a few months ago – which they used to get out of Jammu district. This car was later abandoned in Samba district.Both vehicles were recovered by the police.On the basis of inputs from eyewitnesses and analysis of the footage of CCTVs in the area, they were able to identify the assailants.In the meantime, the Khauff gang had also claimed responsibility for the murder.Police said that after fleeing, the accused continued to stay in touch with their family members using mobile phones of strangers they would bump into during their halts at dhabas and other places. To throw the police off the scent, they would deliberately choose the mobile phones of people headed in the opposite direction. “They knew that their kin were likely under surveillance. So, even if the police tracked down the location and owner of the mobile phone through which their family members were contacted, the personnel would believe them to be in an area completely opposite of where they actually were,” said an officer.Story continues below this adAnd sure enough, even though J&K police raided places in Punjab and Haryana besides the Union Territory, they could find no clue.A few days later, police came to know that three of the accused — Harsh, Arun Kumar and Abhay Singh — were in the national capital. “One of them had called up his parents at home in Jammu from a borrowed phone. He told the parents that they can meet him at the New Delhi Railway Station on a particular date,” said an officer.The police contacted the Delhi Crime Branch and a trap was laid at the railway station. However, despite an intensive search, the accused could not be tracked. It is not clear yet if the accused actually came to the station or if the call to the parents was yet another attempt to mislead the police.But one thing was clear by now – the trio was in New Delhi.Story continues below this ad Ajay and Raj, who had come to ISBT to drop the accused, were arrested for helping them evade arrest. (Express archives)According to the Delhi Police, after the murder, the accused decided to come to the national capital with the help of Arun’s younger brother, Ajay, who runs a mobile repair shop in Jammu.“Ajay told them they could go to Raj, his cousin, who lives in a rented accommodation in Delhi’s Old Seemapuri,” a senior Delhi Police officer said.The three accused, along with Ajay, came to Delhi the day after the murder, the officer said.“While staying at Raj’s residence, they visited places like the Red Fort, Akshardham Temple, and the Delhi Zoo,” the officer said, adding Raj worked as a domestic help.“After spending around five days in Delhi, they had started making a plan to escape to Nepal,” the officer added.In the meantime, the J&K Police found out that Abhay was in continuous touch with his girlfriend in Jammu. “Her mobile phone was also on interception. The police found out that Abhay had requested her to book their tickets for Nepal from Kashmiri Gate ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminal),” another police officer said.A team of Crime Branch, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Pankaj Arora and comprising Inspector Sunil Kalkhande, Sub-inspector Subhash Chand and head constables Jai Singh, Samander, Parveen and Mukesh Kumar, laid a trap near ISBT and nabbed Harsh, Arun and Abhay on February 2.A sub-inspector from J&K, Darshan Singh, and his team were also a part of the operation, the officer said.Ajay and Raj, who had come to ISBT to drop the accused, were arrested for helping them evade arrest.Police said it was Abhay, who, along with a juvenile, carried out the shooting.Later, one Amit Kumar, another man called Ruhan Farooq and the juvenile were also nabbed.Police said Mithun Kumar, one of the conspirators, had arranged for the finances to execute the murder plan while Shiv Kumar Bhagat alias Shibbu alias Koda did the recce.In all, SSP Singh said that 11 accused have been held in the case. Officers are also working out the financial transactions – this appears to be a case of contract killing – made in the planning and execution of the murder.How the murder was plannedPolice said Vikas had asked Harsh Singh alias Banta, a resident of Bikram Chowk in Jammu, to “arrange boys for the murder”.To execute the plan, the accused rented a single-room space in Shastri Nagar in Jammu nearly four months in advance, said police. The weapons were arranged from outside J&K, they added.For the next four months, the gang carried out a recce, noting down Sumit’s every movement.On January 21, 2025, they fired at Sumit as soon as his vehicle – a red-coloured Thar – slowed down near Jewel Chowk.Police personnel rushed Sumit to the Government Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him as brought dead.Officers said efforts are on to deport Vikas to India.