For nearly two minutes on the night of July 9, Block A of Sushant Lok Phase-I in Haryana’s Gurugram sounded like a war zone. Just minutes from the glitzy Mehrauli-Gurugram Road, known for its premium hotels and luxury showrooms, a quiet enclave of bungalows was jolted by gunfire. More than 60 rounds were fired in a brief but intense exchange — roughly one bullet every two seconds — as Gurugram Police and alleged shooters faced off outside a businessman’s house.The confrontation left four alleged shooters dead and three policemen injured. The dead were Sandeep (alias Deepa), a criminal with a dozen cases against him, including some cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985; Nitin Phogat, a motorcycle mechanic with a criminal record; and two minors — a promising javelin thrower and a daily-wage labourer. Their alleged fifth accomplice, Shivam of Nuh, was critically injured and has since been shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit.The police said the attack was ordered by Deepak Nandal, a music director-turned-gangster who allegedly runs an extortion racket from abroad. The target was businessman Vishal Berry, who had reportedly received extortion calls.The First Information Report, in which Nandal has been named as an accused, said that the police acted on intelligence about a possible attack. It read: “There was input that the Deepak Nandal gang might target and kill individuals to whom he had made extortion calls. We got further intelligence that an attack was planned today on Vishal Berry’s residence in Sushant Lok Phase-I.”At 9:22 p.m., a wireless alert flagged a black sport utility vehicle (SUV) carrying about four armed men on National Highway-48. Three Crime Branch teams led by sub-inspectors moved in and surrounded Berry’s house.Twenty-eight minutes later, the SUV rolled in, with its number plates crisscrossed with strips of black tape. The police said they spotted five youths inside. Three jumped out from the middle row and one from the front, before unleashing a volley towards Berry’s house and neighbouring homes. One of them recorded the assault on his phone, the FIR said.“When challenged, the accused fired at the police to escape. The police team retaliated,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Naveen Sharma said. He later told reporters that five modern pistols, live ammunition, and the SUV allegedly used in the crime had been seized.