One of the suspects, Sushil, surrendered before the police on Monday evening.

Police also suspect that the accused was angry with the victim, Ankit Manocha, because he had threatened them and bragged about his “contacts”. The police said a Mehrauli-based financier, Mahender, had lent Rs 10 lakh to Sushil, Pushkar Arora and Rajesh Pandey — all car dealers based in Karol Bagh. When Mahender went to recover the money on Friday, the accused asked him to come on Sunday.

This time, he reportedly went with eight others, in two cars.

Mahender told the accused that interest on the borrowed money was Rs 1.5 lakh and wanted it returned immediately, an officer said. The accused and Mahender (and friends) reportedly had a heated argument over this at their shop in Karol Bagh.

The accused reportedly said they could not cough up the interest but would return the capital amount in a few days.

At this point, Ankit allegedly threatened Sushil with dire consequences and boasted he had powerful contacts. Pushkar, who has been detained, told the police that after Mahender and his friends left, Sushil asked one of his recovery agents to “get the job done” (read kill Ankit). Police sources suspects three people were hired for killing Ankit.

As per the police’s theory, the professional gunmen chased the two cars in their black Indica and when Ankit stopped to buy a bottle of water on the way home, the accused banged against the car and pushed it off the road. The accused then took point-blank shots, killing Ankit on the spot and injuring his friend Surender.