Delhi police arrest armed robbery accused, his associate after gunfight in Dwarka

According to the police, the accused identified as Miraj alias Mehraj was wanted in a Rs.3 crore armed robbery case

New Delhi: The Delhi Police crime branch on Friday arrested an armed robber and his associate after a brief gunfight which took place at Dhulsiras village in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka, senior police officers aware of the operation said.

(Representative Photo)

According to the police, the accused identified as Miraj alias Mehraj was wanted in a Rs.3 crore armed robbery case. He has been involved in five other cases of robbery and Arms Act and carried a reward of Rs.2 lakh on his head, said police.

Multiple teams of the special cell, crime branch, and the district police had been searching for Miraj, who was absconding since the armed robbery case was reported in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar last year.

Additional commissioner of police (ACP) (crime) Sanjay Bhatia said that the crime branch’s western range-II (WR-II) team members late on Thursday night received information that the absconding suspect, Miraj, would come to Dhulsiras village in Dwarka with his associate.

The information was shared with area police inspector Akshay Kumar, and a team was formed to arrest Miraj, said Bhatia. Around 2.30am on Friday, the police team laid a trap in the area, and nearly 15 minutes later, they spotted Miraj and his associate and asked them to surrender, the ACP said. However, Miraj fired two rounds at the police party, hitting Kumar’s bulletproof vest, and in return fire, the inspector shot Miraj’s leg.

The team members overpowered his associate and arrested the duo, said the ACP, adding that two firearms were recovered from their possession. Miraj was admitted to a hospital for treatment, he said.

In the early hours of May 7 last year, at least five masked men armed with weapons broke into a businessman’s house in Ashok Vihar, held the entire family captive at gunpoint, and looted him of Rs.3 crore.

A case was registered, and four suspects were arrested by the crime branch a month later. However, the prime suspect, Miraj, was absconding, the police said.

It was suspected that Miraj had fled to Bangladesh to hide, following which the Delhi police announced a Rs.2 lakh reward.