Delhi cop stabbed by snatcher four days ago, dies of succumbs

A Delhi Police assistant sub-inspector, who was stabbed multiple times by a snatcher in west Delhi’s Mayapuri area on Wednesday, succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in central Delhi on Sunday morning

A Delhi Police assistant sub-inspector, who was stabbed multiple times by a snatcher in west Delhi’s Mayapuri area on Wednesday, succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in central Delhi on Sunday morning.

Assistant sub-inspector Shambhu Dayal was stabbed in the neck, back and chest by a snatcher on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The Delhi Police commissioner, Sanjay Arora, and other top brass of the force reached the office complex of deputy commissioner of police (DCP), west district, and paid homage to the slain police officer, Shambhu Dayal, 57, whose mortal remains were kept there for final prayers. Arora and other senior officers, including additional commissioner of police (western zoen) Chinmoy Biswal and DCP (west) Ghanshyam Bansal offered their condolences to the grieving family. They also joined the Dayal’s last rites.

DCP Bansal said the snatching and stabbing incident took place around 4 pm on Wednesday. He said a woman named Vandana approached ASI Dayal, who was deployed in Mayapuri Phase-1 area, and told him that a person snatched the mobile phone of her husband, Vinod, threatened them and fled with the cellphone.

“The ASI accompanied the woman to the direction the suspect had fled. They reached slums in Rewari Line Phase-1, where she pointed out towards the suspect. Dayal caught the suspect, recovered the cellphone and was taking him to the police station for completing legal formalities. On the way, the suspect pulled out a knife from under his shirt and attacked Dayal. He stabbed the police officer in the neck, chest, abdomen and back,” the DCP added.

Despite suffering as many as five stab wounds, the police officer did not lose his grip and let the suspect flee. Soon, the matter was reported to the police and some police personnel reached the incident spot. They overpowered the suspect and rushed the injured ASI to a nearby hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital in central Delhi, the police said.

“Dayal displayed bravery that led to the arrest of the attacker, who is a habitual criminal registered as a bad character (BC) at the Mayapuri police station,” said Bansal.

The city police said that Dayal was enlisted in Delhi Police as a constable on February 2, 1993. He served the police force for nearly 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Sanjana and three children – Deepak, Gayatri and Priyanka. Dayal was a native of Ganwali village in Sikar district of Rajasthan.

Dayal’s brother-in-law, Jai Kishan, who is a sub-inspector in Delhi Police, said the CCTV footage of the incident showed that many people were present when Dayal was taking the snatcher to the police station.

“There was a scuffle between my brother-in-law and the snatcher before the stabbing. There were many witnesses, but nobody helped my brother-in-law. He was a brave officer and did not let the snatcher off despite being stabbed multiple times,” said Kishan. He added that Dayal’s son is preparing for Delhi Police recruitment exams.