Delhi: Teen with 4 murder cases in his name prime accused in Amazon staffer’s killing

The horrific murder of a senior manager of e-commerce giant Amazon in Delhi’s Bhajanpura area on Tuesday (August 29) is a crime that seems straight out of a Bollywood film.

An 18-year-old called Maya is the prime suspect in the murder. Police have arrested Maya and his associate Bilal Gani, also 18, and are looking for the rest of the accused.

Maya alias Mohammad Sameer, who runs ‘Maya Gang’, seems to have modelled himself on reel-life gangsters and has a massive social media presence.

He flaunts over 2,000 followers on Instagram and frequently posts photos of himself in garish outfits totting guns and along with his gang members. His bio, which reminds one of filmy one-liners delivered by Bollywood villains, reads, “Naam badnaam, pata kabristan, umra jeene ki, shauk marne ka,” meaning “I am infamous, the graveyard is my address, this is the time to live, but I love chasing death”.

Maya has at least four murder cases against him as a juvenile. Police said his aide, Bilal, a resident of Subhash Mohalla in Bhajanpura, who turned 18 on Sunday, was involved a murder in Bhajanpura and a robbery case in 2022. Being a minor at that time, he managed to come out of the Children's Observation home, police said.

The crime

Police said, Maya and his gang on Tuesday opened fire at Harpreet Gill, a senior manager with Amazon, and his maternal uncle Govind Singh after intercepting their motorcycle near Subhas Vihar in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura area.

While Gill, 36, who was shot in the head, died on the spot, Singh, 32, survived the attack.

Gill, a resident of Bhajanpura, worked as a senior manager with Amazon at Jakhira in west Delhi. A bullet entered from the right side of his head behind the ear and exited from the other side, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said.

Gill's uncle Singh lives in Bhajanpura too and owns an eatery there. He was also shot in the head but survived. He is undergoing treatment at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and is stable, the police officer said.

Killed over road rage

Besides Maya and Bilal, police have also identified Sohail, 23, Mohammad Junaid, 23 and Adnan, 19, as accused in the case.

Police say the shooting happened following an episode of road rage between Maya and his gang and the uncle-nephew duo.

The five of them were partying in North Ghonda, Bhajanpura and around 10:30 pm decided to step out for a ride on two scooters. They stopped at a few places and finally started riding on a narrow lane where two bikes cannot cross, Tirkey said.

Gill and Singh were coming from the other side and wanted the five to stop and give way. Maya and his associates became aggressive and Junaid slapped Singh. When Gill and Singh tried to get down to speak with the youngsters, Maya shot them in the head, the DCP said.

The accused were identified after scanning the CCTV footage, the police officer said.

(With inputs from agencies)