Class 10 student, 17-year-old Javelin athlete, labourer & man with 14 criminal cases

3 min readGurgaonUpdated: Jul 11, 2026 11:13 AM IST

Gurugram Police shot dead four individuals, including a 17-year-old athlete and an alleged gangster, during a late-night encounter in Sushant Lok. (PTI File)

A 17-year-old javelin athlete, a Class 10 student with two criminal cases against him, a labourer who had told his family he was leaving for the Kanwar Yatra and an alleged gangster facing 14 criminal cases were among the four persons killed in an encounter by the Gurgaon Police in Sushant Lok late Thursday.The youngest among the four – 17 years old, according to his father – was from Rohtak, about 80 km from Gurgaon.

Waiting for his body outside the mortuary, the father, who runs an e-rickshaw garage in Rohtak, said his son had been training as a javelin athlete at a stadium for the last two years.

“He left home on Wednesday after practice, saying he was going to get my motorcycle repaired and would soon return. He was not carrying a mobile phone… When he did not return, I searched for him for 48 hours and filed a missing person complaint,” he said.

The man said he visited the police station several times in the last 48 hours for news about his son’s whereabouts.

“Today morning, I got a call from my village sarpanch asking me to go to Sector 29 police station in Gurgaon… Around the same time, the local police also called asking me to come for identification,” he added.

Police said the boy left Rohtak on a motorcycle with Nitin — another man killed in the encounter — from the district.Nitin’s father, Sanjay, said he had also filed a missing person complaint after his son went missing. A taxi driver in Rohtak, he added, “Nitin was studying in Class 10. I don’t know he was in contact with whom.”

He said that Nitin had two previous criminal cases registered against him in Rohtak, including charges of attempt to murder and the Arms Act.

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Another of those killed, Ankit, worked as a part-time labourer and had studied till Class 8, his family said.

His father, Anil, also a labourer, said, “Ankit left home two days ago saying he was travelling to Haridwar for the Kanwar Yatra.”

The fourth person killed, Sandeep alias Deepa, was facing 14 criminal cases in Haryana, including attempt to murder, robbery and offences under the Arms Act, police said.

Hailing from Fatehabad in Haryana, he had left home several years ago, said police, adding that his family has maintained that they did not know where he had been staying.

When contacted, his family members refused to comment.

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Following the post-mortem examination, the bodies of all four were handed over to their families. Police said that while they are verifying the teenager’s age, the others were in the 20-24 age group.

Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.

Education

- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)

- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)

Professional Experience

Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.

Reporting Interests

His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.

Recent Coverage (2025)

- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).

- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).

- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).

- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.

- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).

- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).

Contact

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