Black Scorpio, Shooter Filmed Attack: How Gurugram Encounter Played Out

The late-night police operation that unfolded like a high-octane crime thriller in Gurugram was indeed recorded on camera by one of the attackers with the intention of showing off to their overseas handlers, sources have said.

The fierce gunbattle in the residential area left four shooters dead, one critically injured, and three police personnel wounded. The police were up against a major operational cell of an international extortion syndicate.

As bullets flew into a local businessman's house, one of the attackers was actively filming the assault on his mobile phone to broadcast it live to their overseas handler, sources said.

The police had been following the gang for several days with a series of silent cyber and field operations. The crime branch had been picketing specific coordinates based on intelligence inputs regarding targeted gang activities.

"From the last few days, the crime branch team had concrete intel about gang-related activities in the area," a senior officer said. "We received a highly specific input that four to five heavily armed people were roaming around the city in a black Mahindra Scorpio. The moment that tip-off was verified, the entire network went active."

Recognising the seriousness of the threat, which was tied to extortion threats made against prominent local families, three specialised teams of the crime branch were drawn from Gurugram Sectors 17, 39 and 40 under the supervision of an intelligence officer. Their objective was to track and corner the vehicle before it could reach its destination.

However, the targets moved fast through the densely populated residential area.

Crime Branch team takes away evidence in their vehicle

At 9.50 pm on Thursday, the black Scorpio came to a residential street. To evade automatic licence plate recognition cameras and surveillance, the suspects had covered the vehicle's registration plates with heavy black tape.

The SUV ground to a halt right outside the house of the local businessman, who had recently been targeted for extortion. Within seconds, the quiet suburban night was shattered. Three armed men leaped out of the Scorpio, pulled out semi-automatic pistols and opened indiscriminate fire at Beri's house and neighboring properties.

What the fourth suspect did surprised the investigators. "When the Crime Branch team reached the spot, the shooters were openly firing at the house of the businessman," a statement said. "Uniquely, one shooter was standing back and actively recording a video of the entire firing incident on his mobile phone. They were acting under explicit instructions from a notorious key criminal based abroad, intended to use the footage as leverage for further extortion."

The Crime Branch units arrived just as the first rounds went off. They moved fast to block the road and took precautions to ensure that no crossfire penetrated the walls of the surrounding homes.

With the block completely sealed, the police team formed a strategic perimeter and issued loud, clear warnings and ordered the five suspects to drop their weapons and surrender peacefully.

The shooters then turned their pistols away from the businessman's house and redirected a barrage of direct gunfire at the advancing policemen. Three police officers were injured in the opening seconds. The officers fired warning shots into the air, offering a final window for compliance while securing their bleeding colleagues.

As life-threatening fire persisted from behind the Scorpio, the crime branch unleashed controlled and tactical retaliatory fire using specialised long-range weapons to neutralise the immediate threat to public safety and self-defence.

The intense gunfight ended with all five suspects getting injured by bullets. The police gave basic field first aid and rushed them to the nearest civil hospital, where doctors declared four of the shooters dead - Deepa alias Sandeep, Aryan, Nitin and Ankit.

The fifth suspect, identified as Shivam, survived the gunfight but remains heavily guarded in a critical care ward undergoing treatment for life-threatening injuries. The three policemen were injured when they led the charge into an alleyway. They have been identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Sunil Kumar, and Constables Manjeet Singh and Shamsher Singh. They are being treated at a top hospital.

The police have seized the Scorpio SUV whose number plate was masked with black tape, five semi-automatic pistols, 50 spent shell casings and a large number of live rounds.

Forensics teams and ballistics experts spent hours mapping out the trajectory of the bullets. "The teams are trying to get more detailed information about the exact make and origin of the modern pistols that have been recovered," said an official close to the probe.