“Lady Don” Kajal Khatri, arrested on Wednesday by the Delhi Crime Branch, has confessed to organising Air India crew member Suraj Mann’s killing in January 2023 for a sum of Rs 4 lakh.
According to the police, the plot was carried out in collaboration with Naveen Sharma, who was paid Rs 1.5 lakh in advance for obtaining the weapons, with the remaining amount to be settled after the killing. However, the plan unravelled when Noida Police arrested Sharma before the full payment was made.
“We are preparing to take swift action against Kajal under the Gangster Act,” Additional DCP Noida Police Manish Kumar Mishra said. Several more names have surfaced during the investigation, and efforts are underway to apprehend all involved, police said.
During interrogation, Khatri revealed that she is married to Kapil Mann, a notorious gangster currently in jail. The two met in a gym in Sector-11 of Delhi’s Rohini and married in 2019. Since then, Khatri has been an active member of Kapil Mann’s criminal enterprise, providing financial and logistical support to the gang. According to the police, she met Kapil Mann in jail shortly before Suraj Mann’ss murder, where the detailed plan for the assassination was discussed.
The murder of Suraj Mann, 30, was carried out after he exited a gym in Noida. The attackers, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on him as he sat in his car. Initial investigations found that Suraj Mann had no criminal history, but it was suspected that his financial support to his jailed brother, gangster Parvesh Mann, was the reason for his assassination.
Kajal Khatri, operating under the alias “Lady Don,” was acting on the orders of her incarcerated partner, Kapil Mann, to avenge the murder of Kapil’s father. The feud between Kapil and Parvesh has been simmering for years. Parvesh, currently imprisoned in Mandoli jail, is accused of orchestrating Kapil’s father’s murder. Kapil retaliated by ordering the hit on Parvesh’s brother, Suraj Mann, as retribution.
Khatri had been evading capture since the January killing, with a bounty of Rs 25,000 on her head. However, a special Delhi Crime Branch team successfully tracked her down and arrested her.
