Delhi sees another crime in public place, bikers shoot at man in car at CR Park

The incident sparked panic among local residents and shopkeepers.

Two men on a motorcycle fired at two people in a car driving through a busy residential block of south Delhi’s Chittaranjan (CR) Park on Thursday evening, police said on Friday, the latest in a string of brazen crimes taking place in the Capital over the last few days.

The damaged car window seen after the firing in CR Park in New Delhi on Friday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The driver of the car, who appeared to be the target, was injured and the suspects fled the spot near C block. The targets got out of the car and into the first home they found unlocked. The incident took place around 8pm.

A case of attempt to murder was lodged against the two suspects, who were yet to be identified, officers said. Police were also probing the motive behind the attack, officers associated with the investigation added.

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Preliminary probe found that the accused were following 26-year-old Sachin Gupta, and Waseem Ahmed, 40, since they left their house in Sangam Vihar in their red Maruti Suzuki Brezza. Police said they are verifying criminal antecedents of the targets of the shooting.

Gupta suffered a bullet injury on the index finger of his right hand, police said. The shooting is the third such crime in a public place in the south of the city in five days, including the stabbing of a 19-year-old student just outside a Delhi University college, and the killing of two sisters outside their home.

The spate of incidents reignite concerns about law and order, especially when it comes to street crimes which, while not always heinous, can strip a city of its sense of safety -- something that does not befit a national capital.

Thursday’s firing triggered panic among local shopkeepers and residents. The victims told police they left the car, used a pedestrian gate to enter the C block and ran into the first house they could find.

“A delivery boy had arrived just then and the gate was unlocked for him when they entered and stood in our parking area... . We saw one man with a bloody finger and another trying to make frantic calls. We were scared and uncomfortable with strangers in the house and I approached them. They said we should not go out or we may too be shot at, “ said Gautam Das, a resident of a building in C Block that Gupta and Ahmed had fled to.

He added that he called the local station house officer, who reached in 10 minutes with other officials. The victims were then taken to the crime scene along with some of the residents from the building they entered.

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Das said the area is usually safe and such incidents are unheard of. “Residents are uncomfortable as such incidents do not happen too often in CR Park. Barricades are also usually put in place by 10pm and the SHO is approachable,” said Das.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary said they received a call regarding the firing at around 8:14pm

“Gupta was driving the car and talking on the phone. All of a sudden, a single shot was fired at the driver’s side. The bullet pierced through the window and grazed Gupta’s finger. Further inquiry revealed that two people with their faces covered were following the car on a bike. We are probing the case further,” said DCP Chowdhary . Gupta was admitted to AIIMS and discharged after medical attention, police said.

According to investigators, the two car occupants were on their way to New Friends Colony from their houses in Sangam Vihar to buy clothes. Footage from CCTV cameras on the route showed the accused were tailing the victims from Sangam Vihar itself.

“Prime facie, it appears that the assailants did not get the right opportunity on the route till CR Park, where they finally fired a bullet at the occupants of the car. It also seems that Gupta was their prime target because the bullet was fired from the driver’s side window. Gupta survived just by a few inches,” said an investigator, asking not to be named.

At least eight teams, including five teams of the CR Park police station where the case was lodged, were formed to nab the attackers, but they could not be identified or caught till late Friday, and the motive remained unknown. Police are investigating the case and trying to ascertain if the attack stemmed from personal enmity or business rivalry, at least two police officers associated with the probe said .

“The two men targeted in the firing are not cooperating in the probe,” said one of the officers, asking not to be named.