April 11, 2013
The son of multimillionaire politician Deepak Bhardwaj is being accused of paying $1 million to have his late father assassinated. Nitesh Bhardwaj was fearful that his father would write him out of his will and divorce his mother for his 29-year-old ex girlfriend.
April 11, 2013
The son of multimillionaire politician Deepak Bhardwaj is being accused of paying $1 million to have his late father assassinated. Nitesh Bhardwaj was fearful that his father would write him out of his will and divorce his mother for his 29-year-old ex girlfriend.
Real estate developer Deepak Bhardwaj, 62, was gunned down by three men at his farmhouse at Rajokri in South Delhi on Tuesday morning.
The son of one of Delhi's wealthiest politicians allegedly paid $1 million to have him assassinated because he feared his father was about to disinherit him and abandon his mother in favor of his own ex-girlfriend, police have said.
Deepak Bhardwaj, a multi-millionaire property developer and leader of Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents India’s “untouchable” caste, was shot dead by two gunmen who drove into his luxury farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi last month.
The gunmen were caught on CCTV cameras – but when police arrested them, the claims of an extraordinary plot emerged.
According to police, Mr Bhardwaj’s son Nitesh had approached his father’s lawyer and business associate, Baljeet Sehrawat, to ask for his help in the killing.
The police claim he feared his father would cut him out of his will and divorce his mother in favor of a 29-year-old employee who had once been his own girlfriend.
Serhawat, who has also been arrested, allegedly agreed to help organize the assassination for five “crores” of rupees – around $1 million – and a pledge that Nitesh would fund his own political ambitions, police said.
Serhawat represented the victim in his own business disputes but had apparently fallen out with him over an unpaid commission on a land deal.
According to police, after striking the alleged deal with the victim’s son, Serhawat apparently approached Swami Pratibhanand, a Hindu guru based in Haridwar to help find “suparis” – hired hit men – to carry out the assassination.
The swami is being sought for arrest by the police.
Deepak Bhardwaj’s rags to riches story had won him many admirers – and enemies – in the Indian capital.
He had begun his career as a government stenographer in the sales tax office and traded car spare parts on the side. He used his profits to buy up small plots of land from poor farmers and gradually built a sizeable fortune.
When he stood for the BSP at the 2009 election, when he was challenged over how a high caste Brahmin millionaire could represent poor dalits, he declared more than £60 million in assets. He was, however, believed to be a billionaire.
“We have arrested six persons including the son of the victim. He has confessed his role in the murder,” Chaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police, told The Telegraph.
“The ‘Godman’ is on the run and a manhunt has been launched to arrest him,” he said.
Courtesy: Daily Telegraph
