Two sharpshooters associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar gang have been arrested in the national capital, the Delhi Police said here on Friday.

Crime Branch of the Delhi Police nabbed the shooters linked to the overseas gangs involved in the shootout outside a former Punjab MLA’s house in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh on December 3, Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said during a press conference.

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The accused have been identified as 23-year-old Akash alias Kassa from Sonipat and 19- year-old Nitesh alias Sinti Charkhi Dadri in Haryana.

Two pistols with seven rounds of ammunition, along with a stolen motorbike used in the commission of crime, were recovered from their possession.

Akash has a record of criminal cases against him, the senior police official said.

Both of the shooters were involved in firing outside former Punjab MLA Deep Malhotra’s house on December 3 at the behest of Goldy Brar in an extortion bid.

The special CP (Crime) asserted that such criminal activities will not be tolerated in Delhi.

Reportedly, business establishments of the ex-MLA, who is into the liquor business, were burnt in Punjab at the gangster’s instance in the past.

On the modus operandi of the gangs, the senior police official said they function in a multilayered unit to avoid being detected by the police. They no longer recruit any person directly but hire through middlemen or handlers using social media platforms.

Initially, it appeared to a blind case with no clues. However, after prolonged investigation, scanning of CCTVs and various technical data analyses and manual intelligence inputs, a crime branch team was able to eventually trace out the two accused.

The official said since they gangsters are hired from outside the city, it becomes difficult to easily identify them.

The gangsters operate through their handlers in such a way that their foot soldiers that they can’t be easily traced. They are instructed by their handlers to communicate through mediums other than cell phones. These ground operatives are kept oblivious of the target and the amount of recovery or the motive. They are just given an address and told how to reach the location to pick up the weapon and the vehicle, etc. in a manner that it becomes difficult for the enforcement agencies to trace their footsteps, the police official said.

They are initially contacted through social media applications before luring to join the gangs against promises of financial favours, protection and patronage. To prove their loyalty, they were asked to execute tasks, the special commissioner added.

The police are further working on establishing various linkages and zeroing in on the middlemen operating between the gangsters and their ground operatives.

According to the police, this international crime syndicate has been carrying out extortion activities in Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Rajasthan. The mode of their operation has become refined and sophisticated over time.