Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Rajbir Singh was shot dead on the outskirts of the national capital allegedly by a property dealer following a dispute over money.
The suspect, Vijay Bhardwaj, has been arrested and the weapon used in the crime has been recovered, the police said.
The incident occurred Monday evening when Singh, known as an "encounter specialist" for the number of alleged criminals he had shot down, had gone to collect Rs.6 million from Bhardwaj at his office on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road here.
Singh, who otherwise had top security cover (Z plus category) due to threats from various terrorist organisations, had only one personal security officer (PSO) with him when he went to meet the property dealer.
According to police sources, Singh and Bhardwaj had shared a drink before exchanging heated arguments over a dispute involving property.
The sources said Singh had asked his PSO to remain outside the room while he was talking to Bhardwaj.
After killing Singh, Bhardwaj called the media and the police to confess the murder.
Bhardwaj in his statement recorded at the Sector 40 police station here, has admitted that a scuffle broke out between them over a money dispute following which he pumped two bullets into Singh's body.
"Rajbir Bhai Sahib, ACP Delhi Police, and I had some long standing money dispute and he (Rajbir) was pressurising me for the past five-six months to pay the money or else face dire consequences," Bhardwaj told reporters outside his office.
"I was too scared. Once I tried to commit suicide but my family prevented me. Monday was the deadline for arranging the money but I failed," Bhardwaj said before he was whisked away by the police.
Singh's body has been sent for post-mortem examination and forensic teams were collecting evidence from the scene.
He headed the special operations squad of the Delhi Police's crime branch and was also involved in the successful investigation of terrorist attack on parliament in 2001.
Singh, who had served for six years with the Delhi Police special cell, had earlier been transferred to Delhi Armed Police (DAP) and later to the traffic department after tapes of his purported conversations with a contractor on a land deal were made public.
Later, a vigilance probe gave him a clean chit stating that a retired police official connived with others and recorded his phone calls illegally to settle scores with him.
He started his career as a sub-inspector in 1982 and climbed up the hierarchy through a series of shootouts. Singh was involved in nearly 50 shootouts.
Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said officials were investigating why security officers did not accompany Singh, when they were supposed to.
Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police (Crime Branch) Anil Shukla said: "We received the call from the Gurgaon police about the incident. A team was rushed to Gurgaon to confirm the victim's identity.
"We are providing full support to the Gurgaon police in their investigations."
Indo-Asian News Service
His rise from a sub inspector to a high profile assistant commissioner of police was as sensational as the violent end to his life. Delhi Police's 'encounter specialist' Rajbir Singh was murdered Monday night - ending a career that was as controversial as it was illustrious.
ACP Rajbir Singh, who was allegedly shot dead by a property dealer in the suburb of Gurgaon, had courted many controversies during his otherwise remarkable career that began in 1982 when he entered the Delhi Police as a sub inspector.
Shunted out of the Crime Branch following his alleged links with a drug mafia and touted as a 'property grabber', Rajbir Singh last year returned as the head of the newly established Special Operation Squad, a special anti-terror cell.
Rajbir, who had over 50 'kills' to his credit, had become the face of counter-terrorism operations in the capital. He was the man instrumental in cracking the attack on parliament in 2001 and the Red Fort in 2000.
Rajbir was the only officer in the police history to be promoted to the rank of ACP in just 13 years.
His first brush with fame came in 1994 with the arrest of notorious criminal Virendera Jat following which he was promoted to the rank of inspector. The next big ticket targets were gangsters Rajbir Ramola and Ranpal Gujjar. He was then posted as ACP (operations) in west district.
"Rajbir Singh was an able police officer of the Delhi Police and had two promotions during his career," ACP Rajan Baghat said.
The word 'encounter' entered the lexicon in the mid-1990s when gangsters from western Uttar Pradesh began making forays into the capital. Rajbir was among the most prominent 'encounter specialists' at the time.
He came into the limelight Nov 3, 2002 when he allegedly killed two 'terrorists' in basement of the Ansal Plaza shopping mall in south Delhi. A man, Hari Krishna, who claimed he saw the deaths labelled it fake. Later, suspicions were raised about the genuineness of the operations supervised by him.
Rajbir's alleged links with a drug trafficker came to the fore after a telephonic conversation between them -- tapped by the narcotics wing -- was leaked to the media. An inquiry headed by the joint commissioner of police (Vigilance) was ordered.
The Delhi High Court also issued notices to him and other officers on charges that he and his colleagues manhandled some people in west Delhi's Kirti Nagar in connection with a property dispute.
Despite the many controversies, Rajbir was not shifted out of the Special Cell.
But circumstances, and maybe one of the many controversies that dogged him, caught up with him Monday night.
Indo-Asian News Service