ITBP officer’s son shoots dead cook in Delhi house

The 32-year-old suspect, identified by his first name Digvijay, was booked for murder and arrested from their house at the ITBP camp in Chhawla

A 36-year-old constable of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was shot dead on Wednesday allegedly by the son of a senior security officer with his licenced pistol at their house in Chhawla in southwest Delhi on Wednesday, police said.

The deceased was employed as a cook at the senior officer’s house. The exact cause of the shooting was not known. (HT photo)

The 32-year-old suspect, identified by his first name Digvijay, was booked for murder and arrested from their house at the ITBP camp in Chhawla. Police said that he is unemployed. The weapon used in the crime was seized from the spot, officers said.

The deceased (identity withheld) was employed as a cook at the senior officer’s house.

The exact cause of the shooting was not known. However, police said that preliminary investigation found that the Digvijay was enraged over an issue before the killing.

“We suspect that five rounds were fired. The motive behind the firing and murder is being probed. We are interrogating Digvijay regarding the same. In line with the policies of armed forces/ border guarding forces, we are not releasing the name of the victim, or the officer concerned,” said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka district) Harsha Vardhan.

ITBP did not respond to HT’s queries in the case.

According to DCP Vardhan, police received information regarding a firing incident at a residence in the ITBP camp at around 2.20pm. On reaching, police found that the constable, who also worked as a water carrier, was shot at in the house of an ITBP officer of 2IC (Second-In-Command) rank.

The injured constable was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The body was sent for postmortem examination.

A case of murder and use of a firearm was registered at the Chhawla police station.

During initial probe, a police officer who did not want to be named, said that the ITBP officer was not at the residence, but his wife was, when the alleged killing took place. The constable had come to the house for work at around 12.30pm, the police said.

“The exact sequence of events leading to the firing and murder is still being ascertained. However, initial probe has revealed that the officer’s son was enraged over some issue. Whether he had an altercation with someone inside or outside his home that triggered him to commit the crime is a matter of investigation. The original motive is unclear, so far,” the officer said.

Police said the deceased was employed at the officer’s residence for nearly a year, and he lived on the same campus.