NEW DELHI, 25 AUG

Two suspected sharpshooters of the Neeraj Faridpuria–Himanshu Bhau gang were arrested for their alleged involvement in the recent shooting outside YouTuber Elvish Yadav’s residence in Haryana's Gurugram, the police said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Gaurav Singh alias Nikka, 22, a school dropout from Faridabad, and Aditya Tiwari, 19, a BCA student from Bihar’s Taimur district, they said.

According to the police, the two were arrested near Khera Canal in Shahbad Dairy, Rohini, during an operation on Sunday afternoon. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by inspectors Puran Pant, Ravi Tushir, and Braham Prakash under ACP Rahul Kumar Singh laid a trap after receiving information that the shooters were regrouping for another attack in Delhi on the gang’s instructions.

"When intercepted, one of the accused tried to pull out a pistol to fire at the police team, but both were overpowered before they could open fire," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik said. A pistol, four live cartridges, and a mobile phone were seized from their possession.

The two men were allegedly acting under orders of jailed gangster Neeraj Faridpuria and his associate Himanshu Bhau, who had arranged weapons, funds, and logistics for the attack on Yadav’s house on 17 August.

"In their disclosure, the accused admitted that after the Gurugram incident, they attempted to escape towards the Indo-Nepal border but were called back for a fresh assignment in Delhi," the officer said.

In the early hours of 17 August, three men on a motorcycle reached Yadav’s residence in Gurugram’s Sector 56, where two of them allegedly opened fire indiscriminately before fleeing. The Bhau gang later claimed responsibility for the incident on social media.

The police noted that Gaurav Singh had a previous case related to the vandalism of a statue in Rajasthan last year, while Aditya Tiwari has no prior criminal record.

A fresh case under the Arms Act has been registered at the Special Cell Police Station. Investigators are now tracking other members and financiers of the gang and probing the larger conspiracy behind the attack, officials said.

Further investigation is underway, they added.